Partnering With Patients and Families on the Roadmap for Emotional Health

Though engaging patients and families in quality improvement (QI) projects is becoming more common, few papers describe the collaboration and engagement throughout the various stages of the project. The American Board of Pediatrics Roadmap to Emotional Health initiative includes a QI project that aimed to equip health professionals with the tools and resources necessary for addressing emotional health as a standard component of high-quality, equitable care for people and families living with chronic disease. Using the Participation Choice Points Model for community engagement, we describe the Roadmap’s approach to collaborating with patients and families, including specific examples of community engagement activities. We also highlight how the activities map on to published principles for pursuing equity. The paper ends with lessons learned and recommendations for maintaining meaningful community engagement.