About the Connect for Health Program
Connect for Health's clinical trial & implementation study provides a proven program of interventions that any organization can now implement.
Connect for Health is a novel, primary care-based intervention shown to improve family-centered outcomes for children, ages 2–12 years who are at high risk for overweight or obesity. The program is optimized for communities with low-income children—where today's needs are greatest. It coordinates and leverages both clinical and community resources for an optimal cost/impact ratio, and can be implemented in both in-person and virtual (telehealth) encounters.
Some of Connect for Health's proven tools for clinicians and their patient families include:
For Patient Families:
Family educational materials
Family text-messaging library
Community Resource Guide
For Clinicians & Administrators:
Electronic health record flagging system and clinical decision support tools
Clinical guidance
Virtual learning community
Guidance for telehealth
In multi-site clinical trials with primary care practices across several health care organizations, Connect for Health delivered important results through a program designed for easy adoption by clinicians and families.
Results from a follow-up implementation study involving more than 15,000 patient families will be available soon and published on this website. Results from the randomized clinical trial show:
Parents reporting improved health-related quality of life in their children
Significant improvements in child BMI
Outcomes that support key performance metrics (e.g. HEDIS)
Taveras et al., 2017; JAMA Peds
An urgent need
There is widespread recognition that programs like Connect for Health are vitally needed. The ability to report on obesity-related care metrics—and to improve the uptake of interventions by affected communities is critical to having a timely impact.
A scientifically-grounded approach
The data in our research provide compelling evidence for the need for programs like Connect for Health. We report on obesity-related care metrics and demonstrate the low uptake of current interventions.
During a 15-month period prior to the implementation of Connect for Health, three organizations cared for over 26,000 children between the ages of 2-12 years with a BMI ≥85th percentile. Now, over 30 practices, including pediatrics, family-medicine, school-based health clinics, and med-ped practices are implementing the program. It's being used by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical assistants.
The results of the study will be forthcoming, but preliminary results from one healthcare organization reveal that the program was highly acceptable to families and clinicians. 97% of families would recommend the text messaging program and 88% felt that it taught them new information. Clinicians found the tools for them including the flag and clinical decision support tools acceptable and leadership felt that the program was well integrated into the clinical workflow.
Simione et al., 2021; J Comp Eff Res
97% of families would recommend the text messaging program and 88% felt that it taught them new information
Three organizations cared for over 26,000 children.
Based on preliminary analyses, we have identified the main drivers of the cost of the interventions and implementation:
Build-out/customization of the electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support tools
Purchase and ongoing support of the text-messaging program
Time for staff to adapt materials specifically for their organization
Time for staff to conduct and attend training and education events
*NOTE: Connect for Health seamlessly integrates into the workflow of a well-child visit and does not extend the time of the visit.
Connect for Health can be launched with the people and resources you already have.
The Connect for Health program was developed to fit into existing primary care workflows. It is designed to be launched with existing clinical staff and no additional personnel are required.
The intervention seamlessly integrates into the workflow of a well-child visit and does not extend the time of the visit.
For further information about Connect for Health
Link to a full copy of the results of the randomized-controlled trial in JAMA Pediatrics
Link to a full copy of the 12-page study protocol and baseline characteristics published in the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research.
Published Results are Coming Soon! (But we're happy to talk in the meantime.)
We are excited to share the full data set from our implementation study. If you are interested in learning more about our results, before the formal report is released, please feel free to contact us.