The Anne E. Dyson Child Advocacy Award is awarded to five-six residents each year to recognize the outstanding efforts of pediatric residents as they work in their communities to improve the health of children.
Congratulations to Frances Cheng and Nan Du on being awarded for their work on Yale Health Education and Literacy for Asylees and Refugees (Y-HEALAR).
Yale Health Education and Literacy for Asylees and Refugees (Y-HEALAR) is a pediatric resident-driven collaborative program which partners health care providers with Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), a non-profit agency in New Haven, CT, to provide culturally-sensitive health education classes for refugee families.
The program was started in 2016 and was facilitated by the “Healthy Lives” program that gives pediatric residents a half day for projects during ambulatory blocks. Topics for these classes include breastfeeding, nutrition, smoking cessation, car seat safety, physical activity, maternal health, mental health, miscarriage and infertility, pediatric health, and health systems navigation.
On a monthly basis, two-hour sessions are conducted with simultaneous live interpretation in Arabic, Pashto, and Swahili. Verbal and written feedback on course satisfaction is obtained with overall positive comments, particularly towards live demonstrations. Over 90% of participants who fill out the post-test questionnaire state they would recommend the class to a friend.
Y-HEALAR aims to empower refugee children and their families to build healthy, active, and safe lifestyles so that they may become successful and productive members of their newfound societies.
The program continues to expand at a rapid pace because of the dedicated, energetic group of pediatric residents, their fantastic advisor, Camille Brown, MD, and other healthcare providers and medical students, as well as the many engaged refugee families who have benefited from the program.
Y-HEALAR aims to empower refugee children and their families to build healthy, active, and safe lifestyles so that they may become successful and productive members of their newfound societies.
Frances and Nan were incredibly honored by the award and the opportunity to discuss their work nationally, and grateful for the Yale pediatric community for their support and encouragement for the project.