Child care health consultants' roles and responsibilities: focus group findings

To describe the roles and responsibilities of newly trained health professionals, primarily nurses called Child Care Health Consultants.

Health professionals hired by county agencies to become Child Care Health Consultants enrolled in the California Training Institute (CTI) for Child Care Health Consultants, a 9-day educational training program divided into three modules. They participated in one focus group during each module. Research staff led the focus groups and the participants were asked, "What are your roles and responsibilities?" Qualitative analyses were conducted and common themes were identified.

The nine focus groups included 44 participants, 95% were nurses with an average of 20 years of work experience. The roles and responsibilities of the Child Care Health Consultants were described by five themes: network, education, sustainability, on-site service, and administration.

These findings contribute to the new field of child care health consultation by defining the common roles and responsibilities of Consultants.