College of Nursing and School of Information at Kent State University secure grant to research early childhood development
A grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services will fund a study being undertaken by two academic departments at Kent State. The study will explore how libraries and healthcare providers can collaborate to support early childhood learning and brain development.
Project SHIELD (Supporting Healthy Infant Early Learning and Development) at Kent State University is a research project led by members of the School of Information and the College of Nursing. The Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) recently awarded a $99,982 grant to Project SHIELD to study the potential impact of how support programs that combine library outreach programs might be enhanced by bringing in healthcare professionals focused on early childhood brain development.
The grant proposal submitted by the researchers at Kent State University to IMLS outlines the goals of the study. Project Shield will analyze the ways libraries currently support families with children up to 24 months old and how health practitioners are involved while also gathering information on the challenges faced by families regarding early learning and brain development. The study will pay particular attention to how families from underserved communities access these services and the impact of having access to services, including proposing ways to make early learning services more readily accessible.
A news release from Kent State University explains that Project SHIELD will employ interviews, surveys, focus groups, and workshops to document how library services currently help families access tools to improve early childhood learning and brain development. The project will also research to what extent healthcare practitioners are involved in these programs and what impact they make. The research team is led by Katie Campana, Ph.D. and Michelle Baldini, MLS, both of the School of Information, along with Elaine Thomas, MSN, RN, CNE, from the College of Nursing.
Additional research support will come from Kent State's Brain Health Research Institute (BHRI). Director of BHRI, Mike Lehman, Ph.D., said of Project SHIELD, "This project will cement the role that libraries can play with supporting early learning from day one, especially during the time when brain development is most active"
The study began in August 2021 and will run through July 2022. Campana explained that the goal of Project SHIELD is to "establish on a national level how library practitioners can partner with healthcare practitioners to be catalysts for supporting learning and health for the youngest members of their communities."