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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Team Broker Model

paper people cutouts holding handsNCEMCH developed the public health team broker (concierge) model for the MCH Interorganizational Nutrition Group (MCHING) in the mid- to late 1990s. For MCHING, NCEMCH leveraged over 50 experts during a 5-year period to develop an action plan and implement recommendations. NCEMCH project staff provided ongoing consultation/TA to all participants, acting as concierges to team members and coordinating their work. The MCHING model, with its ongoing staffing and support for project activities, activated a sense of self-efficacy, perceived control of time and resources, and confidence in implementing action steps. Such support maximizes opportunities for successfully meeting project objectives.

More recently, NCEMCH applied this model to the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep (NAPPSS) project (2014-2017); this involved coordinating an expert leadership group of over 25 members to develop a national strategic action plan to create a systems-integration approach to address NPM 4 (safe sleep) and NPM 5 (breastfeeding). Project evaluation found that the "concierge model" allowed members to "focus on the real work of providing expertise and moving the project along faster than we thought possible."

 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.