OurChild: A Health IT Solution to Reduce Minority Health Disparities

The goal of this study is to reduce health disparities by designing a digital solution (OurChild) that facilitates connection and bidirectional exchange of information across the cultural, contextual, language, and setting differences that are key barriers to early childhood mental health knowledge and care access for the Chinese American community in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The first study aim is to iteratively design, build, and test OurChild. To do this, the team will 1) collaborate with family, clinical, and community stakeholders to conduct an early childhood mental health context/needs analysis and participatory design and discovery activities; 2) build a digital library of early childhood mental health resources accessible from OurChild; and 3) pilot and assess the usability and acceptability of a beta version of OurChild in a mixed-methods, cross-sectional cohort of 12 Chinese American parents and their 2- to 6-year-old children (N=24) who receive care at the Sunset Park 7th Avenue Family Health Center; and 5) optimize the design, features, and performance to create OurChild 1.0. The second study aim is to evaluate the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance of OurChild 1.0 through an implementation cohort study with 120 parent/child dyads (N=240). A mixed-methods approach using metadata collected with the OurChild app, parent-reported data from the app, EHR data, and post-implementation key informant interviews with providers and other stakeholders to determine whether use of OurChild increases referrals of young children for a mental health consultation or evaluation (Primary Aim) will be used. The secondary aims include examining whether use of OurChild increases 1) parent self-efficacy; 2) parent-provider engagement; and 3) linkage with community early childhood resources.

Inclusion criteria

• Child must be 24 to 72 months old
• Child must have been receiving pediatric primary care at the 7th Ave FHC for at least 6 months
• Child must be identified as Chinese and/or preferred language is Chinese in EHR
• Parents must be at least 18 years old
• Parents must be the child's parent/legal guardian
• Parents must be able and willing to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Siblings and parents of previously enrolled children
• Parents who do not have access to an iOS or Android smartphone