By Maryann England and Ashley Chakales

Bridging the Diaper Gap:

How our Diaper Rash Intervention Saved Families Money

By Maryann England and Ashley Chakales

Texas has about 4 million people who lack health insurance, nearly 600,000 of which are children, and 3.7 million people who live below the poverty line.1,2 San Antonio and surrounding areas are not immune to this. Nowadays, raising a child in America poses many challenges. In addition to the breast milk shortage and adequate healthcare coverage, diapers and other baby changing supplies are expensive. We want to share with San Antonio Medicine magazine readers how our intervention in Lytle, Texas saved families money each month, by providing information on preventing diaper rash and free diapers and supplies.

We chose to work in Lytle, because of its location and population. Lytle, Texas is a small town outside of San Antonio, located 25 miles away from the nearest diaper bank. Based on our research, the majority population in Lytle does not have health insurance and their income is $25,000 per year or lower.3 The clients we served were receiving benefits from other government-funded programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. We spread the word about our services by distributing flyers at local daycare centers and clinics. Recently, we started working with the Mayor of Lytle, Ruben Gonzalez and the Superintendent, Michelle Smith to target a wider audience. People who were interested contacted A Brighter Day, a non-profit organization we partnered with for this project. They helped us by providing contact information and baby diaper sizes. A Brighter Day called participants the week of the distribution of diapers and other supplies to remind the community about our event.

We held a monthly event every Saturday for three months during Fall 2020, Summer 2021 and Fall 2021. We distributed supplies at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, where we stationed ourselves next to the church rummage sale to make our station and diaper supplies visible to people who were walking by. At these events, the team volunteers put together baby kits that included diapers, diaper creams, baby wipes and extra goods donated by A Brighter Day. Before distributing supplies, a research team member asked the parents of the children to fill out a pre-survey to obtain baseline knowledge on diaper dermatitis. After, the research team members designed and handed out pamphlets to provide information and general knowledge about diaper dermatitis: 1) how to properly change a diaper; 2) when to seek medical care for a child's diaper rash; 3) what diapers doctors recommend; 4) what are the best options.

On the third distribution day, the research team conducted post-surveys to assess knowledge gained by participants in our study research. Providing information to families was a very eye-opening experience for our team. We were able to build and establish a relationship with the participants during our research and volunteer work. One of the most memorable families we helped, was a woman with two children who saw us from the church rummage sale, she was looking for a stroller for her two young toddlers. We had a conversation with her and we realized that she has multiple jobs and financial struggles every month to make ends meet. She mentioned that our project provided her with all the information and benefits of using the supra-absorbent diapers that we provided during our event. She expressed her children have been using cloth diapers and they have been experiencing skin irritation lately. She received our diapers and supplies, and she was interested in continuing to be a part of our program.

Another memorable memory from our time in Lytle, Texas was our interaction with an older mother. She stated that she and her husband were not financially stable to have another child in their family, but our project Bridging the Diaper Gap relieved a financial burden from her family. It was rewarding to see our effort make a difference in the lives of Lytle community members.

Since the start the Bridging the Diaper Gap program has helped over 104 people. Our impact was not only noted through the rewarding interactions with Lytle community members, but it was also reflected in our survey analysis. Pre-surveys determined that 80% of our clients’ babies experienced diaper rash at least once in the last year. After registering for our project, families reported their babies not experiencing a single episode of diaper rash. Post-survey responses showed that every participant found the Bridging the Diaper Gap program educational and helpful. Families saved about $23.03 monthly, totaling $69.09 over the three months of each cycle. Saving money on diapers, wipes and diaper cream allowed families to spend money on other necessities and basic living expenses. Our goal is to work with A Brighter Day and Lytle City Council in an effort to expand to Natalia, Texas, and other areas near San Antonio.

References: 1. The uninsured in Texas. Texmed. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://www.texmed.org/uninsured_in_texas/ 2. Knop-Narbutis, A. (2021, September 14). New Census Data Show

Federal Investments kept millions out of poverty, but Texas needs bold action. Every Texan. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://everytexan.org/2021/09/14/new-census-data-show-federal-investments-kept-millions-out-of-poverty-but-texas-needsbold-action/#:~:text=Looking%20at%20multi%2Dyear%20avera ges,for%20the%20same%20time%20period. 3. Lytle Texas Healthcare Data. Towncharts Healthcare data. (n.d.).

Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://www.towncharts.com/

Texas/Healthcare/Lytle-city-TX-Healthcare-data.html

Maryann England and Ashley Chakales are medical students at the UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine and leaders of Bridging the Diaper Gap.