Community Navigation: Iterative Development and Implementation of a Prenatal Psychosocial System of Care

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Psychosocial Care
• Early Childhood Development

Background:

• Universal primary psychosocial care is needed for early life.
• Community Navigation is a manualized program designed to improve child and family outcomes.
• The program engages families during pregnancy, identifies needs, and connects them to resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the implementation of Community Navigation during the prenatal period.
• To assess engagement, identification of family needs, community resource connections, and family satisfaction.
• To report implementation metrics across three iterative versions of the program.

Main Methods:

• The study involved iterative development of the Community Navigation program (Versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.1).
• Families were recruited during pregnancy and offered 1-3 visits with a trained Navigator.
• Implementation metrics were collected and analyzed across all versions.

Main Results:

• Navigation 2.1 achieved high completion rates: 81% for the initial visit and 65% overall completion.
• 98% of families reported unmet needs, with 75% having major needs requiring resource connection.
• 66% of referred families were successfully connected to community agencies, and families reported high satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Community Navigation demonstrates promise as a universal primary psychosocial care system for birthing families.
• The program effectively engages families, identifies needs, and facilitates connections to community resources.
• High engagement, need identification, connection rates, and satisfaction support its potential impact on child and family outcomes.