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Fostering Resilience in Pregnancy and Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The HUGS/Abrazos Program Design and Implementation
Fostering Resilience in Pregnancy and Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The HUGS/Abrazos Program Design and Implementation
- Source :
- Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 9 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Frontiers Media S.A., 2021.
-
Abstract
- Pregnancy and early childhood pose unique sensitivity to stressors such as economic instability, poor mental health, and social inequities all of which have been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In absence of protective buffers, prolonged exposure to excessive, early adversity can lead to poor health outcomes with significant impact lasting beyond the childhood years. Helping Us Grow Stronger (HUGS/Abrazos) is a community-based program, designed and launched at the time of the COVID-19 surge in the Spring of 2020, that combines emergency relief, patient navigation, and direct behavioral health support to foster family resilience and mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-related toxic stress on pregnant women and families with children under age 6. Through a targeted referral process, community health workers provide resource navigation for social needs, and a social worker provides behavioral health support. The use of innovative tools such as a centralized resource repository, community health workers with specialized knowledge in this age range, and a direct referral system seeks to assist in streamlining communication and ensuring delivery of quality care. We aim to serve over 300 families within the 1st year. The HUGS/Abrazos program aims to fill an important void by providing the necessary tools and interventions to support pregnant women and young families impacted by adversity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 22962565
- Volume :
- 9
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Frontiers in Public Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.271132ebab84c0185644aa849ea2193
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.633285