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Communicating About Children's Healthcare

Ohio Covering Kids and Families held a training on children's healthcare issues on Tuesday, April 23, 2008 in Columbus Ohio. Over 35 Ohio advocates and communications professionals gathered to: hear a report from Voices for Ohio’s Children on the six family focus groups held on Ohio’s child health expansions; meet Scarlett Bouder, Director of Communications for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services; learn how to communicate the value of Medicaid/SCHIP using the Narrative Communications messages; identify and communications materials, strategies and tactics being employed throughout Ohio to promote children’s healthcare.

The report compiled by Triad Research Group focused on issues and opportunities surrounding public children’s health programs. The focus groups featured geographic diversity including rural, suburban and urban host sites. Five of the groups were with participants whose children are not enrolled in Medicaid, while one group focused on adults whose children are enrolled. The goal of the project was to identify perceptions and trends in children’s health care and barriers to enrollment. Findings in all six groups were remarkably similar with strong agreement on three perceptions. The perceptions include: health care is very important, a must; limited choice in flexibility and coverage finding physicians in the network and it is very costly. Participants identified ideas for communicating information about Medicaid expansions that were discussed by the group.

Ms. Bouder provided an update to the group as to the new SCHIP expansions that have taken effect since January 2008. She was pleased to report the expansion of coverage to Foster children through age 21 and participants are enrolling in the coverage. The Children’s Buy In Program (CBI) went live on April 1, 2008 and the Department works daily to address concerns that may arise with that program. The key to success of the expansions is getting eligible children enrolled. The Department looks forward to working with this group to develop solutions to challenges as additional expansions get implemented. The group provided feedback and ideas that can be incorporated as improvements right away. The dialogue was rich and a fantastic partnership was born.

Participants were afforded the opportunity to address some of the challenges identified in the morning session with the Narrative Communications training which featured Ed Walz of Spitfire Communications. The training gave participants a chance to identify messages that often are perception and put them in a more positive light. Often times when applicants are discouraged with the system or have had negative experiences in the past, it will impact their current experience. By simply taking a message and validating the individuals feeling then turning it back to the question at hand can make all the difference. Additionally, concepts were explored around the opposition message box to move through a conversation. Participants identified this as very useful and were eager for more information.

Participants went through a brainstorming process and identified topics they would like to be addressed at future convenings. This was the first meeting to establish a learning network of communications professionals that will continue to work and share strategies and tools to promote children’s healthcare in Ohio. If you want to participate in the network, please join us using the form provided in the link to the right in the light blue box.