Creating a community advisory board for pediatric bladder health

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Urology
• Community Health
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Pediatric lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in healthy school-aged children.
• Existing community-based prevention and treatment programs for pediatric LUTS are lacking.
• There is a need for culturally relevant interventions to address pediatric bladder health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the first community advisory board (CAB) focused on pediatric bladder health.
• To identify individual and societal structures impacting pediatric bladder health in the Bay Area.
• To co-design culturally relevant, community-based bladder health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Recruited diverse community stakeholders using probability and non-probability sampling for the CAB.
• The CAB included parents, health workers, educators, and healthcare professionals.
• Conducted quarterly meetings over a 1-year study period for bi-directional feedback.

Main Results:

• Identified community-level barriers to pediatric bladder health, especially within schools.
• Highlighted the need for tailored resources for children and families on healthy bladder behaviors.
• Co-designed school-based bladder health interventions, including posters.

Conclusions:

• The CAB successfully co-designed culturally relevant bladder health interventions.
• Community-engaged research is crucial for addressing pediatric LUTS.
• The CAB will continue to guide future community-engaged research in pediatric bladder health.