Development of a Rural Childcare Professionals Advisory Board Focused on Mental and Physical Wellbeing

Background. Childcare providers have high rates of stress and obesity, which can have an impact on the care they provide for children. Limited research has described strategies for including childcare providers in the development of wellbeing initiatives, especially in rural areas.Objective. To describe the creation and acceptability of a rural childcare advisory board focused on childcare providers’ wellbeing as well as the acceptability of a wellbeing summit implemented by the board.Methods. A collaborative model guided the actions of the advisory board. Acceptability of the board and the summit were assessed via surveys.Results. Key factors contributing to the success of the advisory board included flexibility around the COVID-19 pandemic, evening meetings, and group text messaging. Both the advisory board and wellbeing summit were deemed acceptable.Conclusions. Future efforts are focused on offering an annual statewide wellbeing summit and other interventions. Work is needed to identify sustainable funding sources