Using diffusion of innovation theory to encourage the development of a children's health collaborative: a formative...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Health Services
• Health Policy

Background:

• Limited access to medical treatment and preventive care negatively impacts children's current health and future adult well-being.
• Medically underserved children face significant barriers to obtaining necessary healthcare services.
• Establishing effective healthcare networks is vital for addressing these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To lay the groundwork for a community-wide collaborative effort focused on improving healthcare access for medically underserved children.
• To identify organizations serving these children and assess existing communication networks.
• To gauge organizational willingness to participate in a collaborative network.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage, census-based telephone survey was employed.
• The survey identified organizations interacting with medically underserved children.
• It assessed the communication and collaboration status among these organizations.

Main Results:

• No pre-existing functional network was identified among the surveyed organizations.
• A significant number of organizations expressed interest in participating in a collaborative network.
• The study identified potential pathways for network development.

Conclusions:

• Despite the absence of a current network, there is substantial potential for creating one.
• Organizational collaboration can be a viable strategy to improve healthcare access for underserved children.
• Further development of a structured network is recommended to enhance pediatric healthcare delivery.