Promoting Kindergarten Readiness in Primary Care: Perspectives of Children’s Primary Care Providers

Access: Institutional Access

Publication year

2025

study description

Qualitative Study

objectives

Children’s primary care providers’ (PCP) current approaches to fostering kindergarten readiness for their patients, perceptions of barriers, and ideas for improvement.

exposure

Pediatric Primary Care

outcomes evaluated

Children’s PCPs were recruited and interviewed between June and August 2021. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and iteratively analyzed to identify and refine emerging themes.

setting

North Carolina (NC) Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) region

methods

Children’s PCPs were recruited and interviewed between June and August 2021. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and iteratively analyzed to identify and refine emerging themes.

sample size

N = 11 Primary care providers

measures

Qualitative themes analysis

results

Eleven PCPs were interviewed from eleven unique practices across rural and urban settings in North Carolina. Key themes included (1) Integrating kindergarten readiness in the primary care clinic, (2) Partnering with communities to improve kindergarten readiness, and (3) Promoting equity to improve kindergarten readiness. Within the clinic, PCPs valued extended care teams and dedicated assessment tools. PCPs reported wanting greater collaboration with schools and community organizations and more transparent assessment and referral processes. PCPs identified inequities within existing systems and called for more culturally inclusive, equitable kindergarten readiness promotion. Recommendations included removing cultural and language bias from assessments, improving racial/ethnic concordance, and advocating for supportive systems-level policies.

conclusions

Children’s PCPs identified many current and future opportunities to partner with families and communities to optimize children’s school readiness throughout early childhood. Many school readiness promoting activities recommended by PCPs in this study could be supported through quality measures that track and provide financing for these specific actions.

limitations

This study had several limitations. Participants self-selected, so their views may not represent all PCPs. While thematic saturation was reached, interviews in additional settings or regions could reveal new insights. Demographic data were not systematically collected due to the small sample size and identifiability concerns, and responses may have been influenced by social desirability bias. Finally, the research team’s diverse perspectives may have shaped data collection and interpretation.