Prepared Parents Helping Kids

Parents-particularly those with limited English proficiency (LEP) and limited literacy-may require months or years of experiential learning to master fundamental health care navigation tasks, such as requesting an interpreter. Most programs teaching health care navigation skills are ad hoc and have not be evaluated.

In this study, Investigators will pilot a group-based educational intervention in which a bilingual community health worker will use an interactive curriculum to teach immigrant parents key skills needed to access health care for children.

Parents and caregivers for children <18 years will be enrolled in closed groups of 6-12 individuals. The 6-12 week intervention will comprise 6 meetings, each of which will be no longer than 75 minutes. Each meeting will focus on one of six skills:

• Requesting an interpreter;
• Communicating with a health care facility by telephone;
• Scheduling appointments;
• Traveling to health care facilities and registering with the front desk;
• Obtaining appointments with specialists;
• Calling 911 for an ambulance.

Each meeting will follow a pre-specified plan that will typically include welcoming activities, a review of prior material, introduction of new material, and a series of activities (e.g., role play) to practice key skills. Sessions will be interactive, culturally-appropriate, and held in parents' preferred language.

Inclusion criteria

• Adult age 18 years or older
• Parent of a child <18 years
• Nepali-speaking
• Resident of the US for <10 years

Exclusion criteria

• Scheduled to move away from the study location (e.g., to another city) before the end of the 6-session intervention