Quest Diagnostics, Sesame Workshop team to address health inequities among kids

Quest Diagnostics is teaming up with Sesame Workshop to address health and well-being inequities among young children, particularly in low-income, rural and marginalized communities.

Thanks to a grant from the Secaucus-based testing provider, Sesame Workshop is rolling out a series of resources to connect parents and caregivers with providers by promoting whole child well-being, focusing on forming a healthy team and building on families’ strengths.

The new materials – which are available online in English and Spanish – include:

• “I’m Listening,” a new video featuring Rosita and her abuela (grandmother) visiting their pediatrician for Rosita’s 5-year-old well visit. The fun and engaging video reminds that well-child visits are a great time to communicate.
• Elmo and Abby’s Check-up Play Date, an interactive role-playing game where Elmo and Abby pretend they’re doctors. Make-believe play builds a variety of helpful skills.
• “Hooray for Healthy Teams!”, a digital storybook for parents and caregivers to read together with children about their “healthy team” — parents, extended family, caregivers, teachers, doctors, nurses and themselves, featuring Wes and his dad, Elijah.
• A printable activity book for caregivers and children to prepare for doctor visits, with tips for before, during and after a visit, and activities and games to help children feel comfortable and calm. Printable guides and posters to help prepare for, and make the most of, children’s well-visits and printable posters for health care providers are also available.

According to Sesame Workshop, the resources are being implemented with national partners, as well: the Council on Black Health, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, National Association of Community Health Centers and The Center for Indigenous Health. In addition to being distributed through the Sesame Street in Communities program, an initiative that supports community providers who serve families.

The newly announced offerings are part of an existing collaboration between Sesame Workshop and Quest aimed at reducing health inequities.

In October 2022, Sesame Workshop, which reaches 156 million children across 150 countries through its Sesame Street television program, began an effort with Quest, one of the largest testing providers in the U.S.

Through Quest for Healthy Equity (Q4HE) – an multi-year initiative of Quest Diagnostics and the Quest Diagnostics Foundation focused on providing resources, funding, testing services and education – Sesame Workshop and Quest are taking steps to improve health outcomes for kids, such as: developing a common language around health and wellness; providing easy-to-understand resources; and fostering strong partnerships between families, providers and other trusted individuals so that they can work together to make informed health-related decisions for each child.

Michael Floyd, senior director and leader of Quest for Health Equity, said, “Teaming up with Sesame Workshop to support these resources will ensure children everywhere have access to health resources that they can understand. Supporting underserved communities is integral to our mission at Q4HE, and Sesame Workshop’s work to address the health and wellness needs of children in these communities is something we are both inspired by and humbled to be part of.”

“We’re proud to work with Quest in creating resources that empower our ‘healthy teams’ with a common language that highlights the unique strengths of families and communities,” said Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop’s senior vice president of U.S. social impact. “Completing that circle of care, especially for those most marginalized communities, is essential to ensure our young ones are on track to grow and thrive.”