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PASOs program singled out as 'A Promising Practice' to impove the health of women, children
April 5, 2011
The Arnold School of Public Health program PASOs that addresses the health needs of Latina women and their children has been named "A Promising Practice" by the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs.
Located in Washington, D.C., the AMCHP is a national advocate for state public health leaders working to improve the health of women, children, youth and families, including those with special healthcare needs. The organization has three categories to recognize successful programs – Emerging Practice, Promising Practice and Best Practice.
Only eight other states have programs that have achieved "Promising Practice" status -- Missouri, Florida, California, New York, Virginia, Colorado, Rhode Island and Oregon.
The recognition underscores the dedication and commitment of people throughout South Carolina who are working with PASOs to serve the needs of Latino women and children, said Julie Smithwick-Leone, the program director of PASOs.
"Our program began only five years ago with a $25,000 grant from the March of Dimes to teach prenatal education in Spanish with small groups of Latina women in the Midlands region of South Carolina," she said. "Today, we have a statewide reach, and our services are expanding."
The program is timely. South Carolina has the fourth fastest growing Latino population in the United States. Most Latinos in South Carolina are in their prime years for starting families, making the need for information and services affecting their reproductive health particularly vital.
"The barriers faced by our Latino neighbors in accessing reproductive health information and services impacts the health and lives of all South Carolinians through carefully crafted and communicated educational steps," she said.
Recognition from AMCHP is only one example of PASOs growing influence. The program recently received a $40,000 grant from The Children's Trust of South Carolina to support parenting education to prevent first time incidences of child abuse and neglect in Latino families, Smithwick-Leone said.
PASOs, which means "steps" in Spanish focuses on steps that individuals, families and communities can take to sustain healthy practices and increase access to healthcare," she said.
PASOs, which began with a focus on health during pregnancy now addresses the full range of reproductive health needs and is piloting the parenting education program. Dr. Tom Chandler, dean of the Arnold School, said PASOs represents the impact that public health is having on Latino children and adults throughout South Carolina.
"The work that is being done through the PASOs program to meet the needs of the state's growing Latino population is a public health success story and an Arnold School success story," Chandler said.
"The program started with a specific focus in only two counties of South Carolina, expanded to have a statewide reach, and has earned national recognition," he said. "It is an outstanding example of what the Arnold School of Public Health strives to achieve every day for the health and well-being of people throughout our state and nation 'one step at a time.' "
AMCHP reviewers, who evaluated PASOs, complimented the program for having "a very strong theoretical foundation." The reviewers also were impressed with the program's "efforts to increase healthy pregnancies and newborns and improve reproductive health." They also said the program has the potential to meet AMCHP criteria for "A Best Practice" once long-term evaluation data become available.
"PASOs has always believed in working with the Latino population rather than for the Latino population, and in making sure that everything we do is culturally appropriate. We are gratified to have this recognition as our program continues to grow that we're doing things in the right way," Smithwick-Leone said.
After the March of Dimes grant, PASOs became a partner with the S.C. Public Health Institute at the Arnold School and was awarded a grant from The Duke Endowment. By spring 2008, PASOs became part of SCPHI and also had begun an affiliation with the Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies. The program, which initially was established to serve women in Richland and Lexington counties, expanded to Greenville, Beaufort, Jasper, Newberry, Saluda, Clarendon and Williamsburg counties. The most recent PASOs program is serving Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties.
Visit www.scpasos.org to learn more about the PASOs program. For information on the AMCHP, go to www.amchp.org.
The PASOs program is featured on the AMCHP "Innovation Station": http://www.amchp.org/AboutAMCHP/BestPractices/InnovationStation/Pages/default.aspx
