A2 - Family Engagement: What We Think vs. What Is.

The typed transcription of this session can be found HERE

Full Description:

Description: Public Health isn’t stagnant- it is constantly evolving and growing with the times. As we shift into Public Health 3.0, we are seeing the greater drive and motivation to engage and strengthen external partners and finally bring underrepresented voices to the table. Yet, despite this drive, many individuals still have hesitations, implicit biases, and misconceptions about what family engagement really is. During our presentation, we will discuss the myths and realities surrounding family engagement and youth involvement in today’s Maternal, Child, and Family Health work. We will share examples of the common misconceptions of working with external partners/individuals and then discuss the reality of the partnerships and how entities can adjust their thinking and practices to overcome these biases. Additionally, we will display tangible examples as to how the Ohio Department of Health is accomplishing this mind-shift. This presentation will play on the “What We Think VS. What Is” social media trend and we hope this modern twist on our presentation will increase the enthusiasm and engagement for audience members of all sectors.

Method: Presentation with the following body format for engagement and clarity purposes:

-Introductions, setting the stage, and explaining the "What We Think Vs. What Is" concept

-Slide stating one of our common misconceptions or “What We Think” examples

-Then, a slide sharing the correlating non-biased reality or “What Is” and how to support the reality

-Finally, a slide of how the Ohio Department of Health has embraced the reality- with tangible steps and examples for others to learn from

-Repeat process until all misconceptions shared below have been addressed.

The following are examples of the misconceptions we will address and then help our audience overcome:

-“Willing families are hard to find. They are too busy to volunteer or contract their time. Besides, they have enough on their plates.”

-“We have tried to diversify our teams. We can’t seem to reach the minority communities, or they simply aren’t interested in participating.”

-“Teens and youth are difficult to work with and very unreliable. We can’t get the teens that are struggling to come to the table. Most of our youth partners are individuals wanting to boost their college applications. They don’t have the issues we are trying to address in the community.”

-“Families are too emotionally involved. Our conversations might upset or anger them. Our staff can’t handle that.”

-“Many lived experiencers don’t have the level of education our staff has. Our staff has a deeper understanding.”

-“We can’t consult the community on every matter. We would never get anything done.”

-“People know about the work we are doing. If they wanted to be involved, they would connect with us.”

Target Audience: All

Data: Throughout the presentation we will share data and stats surrounding family engagement and youth involvement.

Abbreviated Description: As we shift into Public Health 3.0, we are seeing the greater drive and motivation to engage and strengthen external partners and finally bring underrepresented voices to the table. Yet, despite this drive, many individuals still have hesitations, implicit biases, and misconceptions about what family engagement really is. We will discuss the myths and realities surrounding family engagement/youth involvement in today’s MCH work. We will share examples of the common misconceptions of working with external partners/individuals and then discuss the reality of the partnerships and how entities can adjust their thinking and practices to overcome these biases. Additionally, we will display tangible examples as to how the Ohio Department of Health is accomplishing this mind-shift.