New Tools Make Using Bright Futures Guidelines Easier

Bright Futures Virginia
B
Healthy Futures Implementation Ideas
from the Virginia AAP Chapter
The program’s next step? Delivering its messages
and videos by cell phone.
Imagine you are grocery shopping, and wonder if
a certain food is appropriate for your toddler. You
text in a question, “What should my 15-month-old
child be eating?” and a video comes back to your
cell phone with the answer.
The parent doesn’t have to wait for the health care
practitioner to return a phone call, and will have a
better idea of which food to purchase for their child
while they are still in the store shopping.
Not everyone has a computer or knows how to use
one, Dr. Kraft said, but almost everyone has a cell
phone these days.
“We want to reach people where they’re at before
we take them where we want them to be,” Dr. Kraft
said.
Visit www.healthyfuturesva.com today and begin
using these valuable online resources with the
families you serve.
right Futures Virginia is bringing the third
edition of the Bright Futures Guidelines
to life by turning them into videos that
are available online for parents to watch
at their convenience at healthyfuturesva.com
Colleen Kraft, MD, immediate past president of
the Virginia chapter of the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP), explained that Bright Futures
provides an abundance of written material, which is
a great resource for health care practitioners, but isn’t
always the best way to reach parents, particularly
those whose health literacy is limited. To address this
audience, Bright Futures Virginia has developed the
online video series, designed to provide Bright Futures
messages and guidance in an accessible, easy-tounderstand
format.
“We conducted 16 focus groups of parents and teens
around the state to identify the key health and wellness
messages on which we should focus,” according
to Joanne Boise, Division Director for Child and
Adolescent Health with the Virginia Department of
Health, sponsor of the Web site.
“There is tremendous interest
in information on normal
child development, obesity
prevention, and positive
youth development — all of
which are inherent in Bright
Futures. Creating a resource
for parents and other
caregivers was the natural
next step for our Bright
Futures initiative,” Ms. Boise
said. Before going live, the
site was tested by parents and
home visitors. The response
was overwhelmingly
positive.
While the primary audience
for the site is parents and
caregivers, the Virginia team
is also marketing it as a tool
for case managers and other
health and human service
professionals who work with
families and need trusted
resources for subject matter
expertise. The Virginia WIC
program is a prime example
of how other professionals
can make use of the information; staff can use the
Bright Futures videos to reinforce teaching with clients,
and increase their knowledge of well-child care.
The videos – 1 to 2 minutes in length each – currently
cover topics from visits up to the 4-year visit.
How does it work? Parents with questions can just go
to the Web site at healthyfuturesva.com and choose
the topic that interests them. The topics are arranged
by age, theme, and health visit. For example, parents
can choose “The 4-year Visit,” and watch videos
that explain the topics Bright Futures focuses on for
children that age, such as “School Readiness,” or
“TV and Media.”
A parent might also choose to search by a health
theme, such as “Oral Health,” where they can see
videos about creating a “dental home” or promoting
dental health at various ages.
Another option is for parents to see all of the topics
that might apply to their child’s age group (from
pre-natal to 4 years), and choose the video that best
addresses their concern.
Videos address such topics as “How should I choose a
car seat?” and from “Why should I not drink alcohol
while I’m pregnant?” to “When should we start potty
training?”
According to Dr. Kraft, the videos provide a credible
source of information from a provider’s perspective
because the videos deliver the same information that
a pediatrician would and they serve to reinforce the
Bright Futures messages.
“For health care providers, we love having a userfriendly
resource for our parents that gives up-to-date,
medically accurate information. In an age where
there is so much misinformation on the Web and
in the media, healthyfuturesva.com gives the type
of information we would give to our parents in our
office,” Dr. Kraft said.
The video library is a collaborative project of the
Virginia Department of Health, WIC, James Madison
University and the national AAP. The Web site and the
short, entertaining videos are being produced by staff
at James Madison University. Ms. Boise credits the
Virginia WIC program for funding the launch of this
project, which will be completed in the coming year
to cover all of the Bright Futures themes and visits
through adolescence. ■
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