Rural school nurses are on the front lines of providing health care for children and families in rural Colorado, but there is little research from their perspective. To fill this gap, a descriptive phenomenological study examined the experiences of nine rural school nurses through in-person audiotaped interviews. Analysis of data revealed three…

Rising poverty in suburbs has led to increased interest in how well suburban safety nets function. Apart from public assistance programs, community-based nonprofit health and human service organizations play a central role in suburban efforts to address racial and economic inequalities. Understanding how nonprofit services are distributed across…

In South Africa, the mother-infant relationship is often conceptualized using international frameworks. Yet, contextual knowledge of mother-infant bonding is essential, as a strong mother-infant bond enhances a mother's capacity to care for her infant, and is associated with many positive child development outcomes. Community health workers work…

Purpose: The practice of social entrepreneurship has grown rapidly around the world, including in Malaysia where it is still considered to be at an early stage. Nevertheless, little is known about the career transition among youth who choose careers as social entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges faced by youth…

This study evaluated a self-report survey assessing school professionals' perceptions of school and community mental health supports and services. Based on responses from 560 school professionals, findings provide support for the measure's internal structure and ability to distinguish low-poverty and high-poverty schools. Practitioners and…

Despite a rise in the observed prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children, few estimates exist of the share of US outpatient mental health treatment facilities that provide services for children with autism spectrum disorder. We identified key facility- and county-level characteristics in offering mental health care for children with…

The "Annual Disability Statistics Compendium," is a summary of statistics about people with disabilities and about the government programs which serve them. The Compendium, presents key overall statistics on topics including the prevalence of disability, employment among persons with disabilities, rates of participation in disability…

Unconditional cash transfer programs are a form of structural intervention to address poverty, a "fundamental cause" of disease. Such programs increasingly aim to build resilience to sustain improved outcomes and provide a solid foundation for longer term transformations. As such, there is a need to understand what resilience means in…

Community health workers have been shown to be an effective way to improve health outcomes in under-resourced contexts like South Africa. Community health workers can support health and well-being through supporting mother-infant bonding, which is associated with a wide range of benefits. The bond between mother and infant is critical for infants'…

Empirical engagement-promoting strategies in child and family mental health services have been identified largely within the context of clinic-based services delivered by mental health professionals. However, the magnitude of unmet youth mental health need necessitates expanding the scope of mental health services, and the associated engagement…

Background: Children and adolescents exposed to chronic trauma have a greater risk for mental health disorders and school failure. Children and adolescents of minority racial/ethnic groups and those living in poverty are at greater risk of exposure to trauma and less likely to have access to mental health services. School-based health centers…

Although there have been growing concerns on how service-learning can accentuate the power differences between the server and the served, service-learning can foster transformative partnership by recognizing the contributions each can offer for a better society. Using participant observation and discourse analysis, this case study examines the…

Improving the health care transition process for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is critically important. This study was designed to examine the overall national transition core outcome among youth with ASD and each of the component measures of health care transition planning. Fewer than 10% of youth with ASD meet the national transition…

Health coverage of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism spectrum disorder is expanding. Yet there is no longitudinal research on patterns of or inequities in utilization of EIBI. We integrated state administrative records with Medicaid and Census data for children enrolled in an EIBI Medicaid waiver (N = 730) to…

Background: The U.S. uninsured rate has dropped significantly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), yet insurance coverage remains lower in historically marginalized communities than in the overall population. New consumer engagement approaches that involve these populations are needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the…