BACKGROUND
Early childhood interventions can simultaneously promote positive health and early language experiences, but often implementation and equity receive insufficient attention in the development process.
OBJECTIVE
We applied a health equity lens to refine and pilot test a family literacy and wellness program designed for Latino dual language learners (DLL) entering Kindergarten and their caregivers.
METHODS
In collaboration with a parent and community advisory board, we refined an 8-week family literacy and wellness program and conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial with wait list control. The program was specifically designed by our interprofessional team for Latino DLLs and uses health topics (i.e., nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and social-emotional development) to (1) introduce foundational language and literacy skills to children, (2) empower families to engage in health and home literacy activities using a strengths-based approach, and (3) encourage maintenance of families’ home language. We assessed reach collecting socio-demographic information, feasibility by measuring attendance, acceptability using a parent survey, and preliminary effects on home literacy activities assessed with a validated parent-report instrument (StimQ2 quantity, quality, content, and concepts subdomains) and child literacy skills using investigator-developed assessments. We analyzed quantitative data using descriptive statistics and regression analyses.
RESULTS
Parents and community advisors informed program content. Thirty-two parent-child dyads enrolled in the pilot RCT. All parents identified as Latino; 91% reported limited English proficiency; one-fifth had less than 8th grade education, indicating that we reached the intended audience. Parents rated the program as highly acceptable, and 72% of participants attended ≥ half of the sessions. After participation, group 1 had higher scores on StimQ2 quality scores (Effect size (ES) 0.99; p=0.02) and higher quantity scores (ES=1.01; p=0.04) compared to group 2.
CONCLUSIONS
Similar interprofessional collaborations could be a promising strategy to promote equity in early language experiences for Latino dual language learners and their families.
CLINICALTRIAL
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05339464