CRE Newsletter - September 2021
CRE Newsletter - September 2021
Child and Family Hub update
Welcome to the September edition of our CRE Newsletter!
We recently developed a video “What is a Hub?” that shares how we aim to support pregnant women and families living with adversity in Wyndham Vale, Victoria or in Marrickville, New South Wales. In this short 3 minute video, we discuss what a Hub is, the role Child and Family Hubs can play, our partnerships, how to develop a Hub, and how we plan to implement and evaluate our Child and Family Hubs.
The Melbourne-based team have postponed the recruitment of families into the Child and Family Hub at Wyndham Vale until mid-November due to the ongoing lockdown in Melbourne. In the interim, the team will be consolidating hub implementation plans and busily writing up papers.
Marrickville Hub update
In the Sydney Local Health District, the team have conducted 6 focus groups with service providers and clinicians who provide care for families in Marrickville. These focus groups have provided fantastic insight into what each group of intersectoral service providers believe would be beneficial for families who live in or access care in Marrickville. Service providers and clinicians in these groups have also provided suggestions for alternate interventions for the Marrickville Community Health Centre which will be considered when the time comes to choose which interventions will be implemented into the Marrickville Community Heath Centre in 2022.
Three interviews with policy makers have also been completed.
National Child and Family Hubs Network
To support the scale and sustainment of Child and Family Hub models of care, we are supporting the development of the National Child and Family Hubs Network. The aim of this network is to connect states and territories in Australia currently working on Hub models to support networking and accelerate learning.
An integrated approach to the delivery of existing child and family-focused services and supports in a community setting has generated increased interest and enthusiasm in recent years given the potential for improvements in population health, care quality, and patient experience while containing costs. This is not about more services, but rather an equitable approach to service delivery and support that understands and addresses the needs of the population. There are opportunities right now to develop and test innovative integrated community-based approaches to models of care.
Currently, at least five Australian states are at different stages of development and implementation of integrated hub models of care to improve child health and wellbeing. Although there is variation in approaches between states, initial mapping of projects has identified some similar components within these Hubs, including co-design, co-location, care pathways, a focus on vulnerable children and evaluation and monitoring.
The National Child and Family Hubs Network aims to establish and support a national network representing these Hub models to:
1. Provide virtual and face-to-face opportunities for structured problem-solving, reflective practice and networking opportunities to prevent and reduce duplication and accelerate learning implementation across Australian states and territories.
2. Strengthen the evidence on core components of a Child and Family Hub model of care that are required for effective implementation and outcomes.
3. Develop sustainable funding models for an integrated Hub model of care.
Opportunities
Senior Project Coordinator
Applications are open for a Senior Project Coordinator to join our team!
The key purpose of this role is to coordinate implementation and evaluation activities at the CRE’s co-designed Child and Family Hub in Wyndham Vale. Key activities include coordinating training of Hub clinicians, conducting Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles and supporting monthly case-based discussions at the Hub. Ultimately these activities aim to improve clinician detection of and response to family adversity.
The position is based at IPC Health in Wyndham Vale, but you will also have the flexibility to work from home and at the MCRI where appropriate.
For a full list of responsibilities and the key selection criteria download the position description.
Applications close Wednesday 22 September.
Awards and Achievements
Grants:
EuroQol grant awarded: The feasibility, acceptability and validity of the EQ-HWB for use in a hard-to-reach population of carers of children experiencing adversity.
Dr Cate Bailey, together with A/Professor Kim Dalziel, Dr Tessa Peasgood, Professor Nancy Devlin from the Health Economics Unit and with Professor Harriet Hiscock and Professor Helen Skouteris, have been awarded a EuroQoL grant to examine the use of the new EuroQol Health and Wellbeing Measure (EQ-HWB) in a population experiencing adversity in Australia. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to determine face and content validity, and the questionnaire will be analysed to measure feasibility, acceptability, validity and sensitivity to change of the new measure. The findings from this study will be used to inform the use of the EQ-HWB to measure quality-of-life of parents/carers where families are experiencing adversity.
Rural Aid grant awarded: 2021-2022. Berger, E., Reupert, A., & Stewart, S. School Children and Families; Mental Health Wellbeing Program. Rural Aid
The aim of this project is to develop and evaluate Rural Aid’s School Wellbeing Program, targeting primary school students located in rural New South Wales and Queensland. Over the course of 12 months, we intend to work alongside Rural Aid and community stakeholders to develop a tailored wellbeing workbook of interactive activities designed to promote rural children’s mental health literacy, resilience and adaptive coping strategies.
Supporting children's mental health during the pandemic and beyond
CRE investigators, Dr Ric Haslam (Director of Mental Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital), Professor Harriet Hiscock (Paediatrician and lead investigator) and Dr Alice Morgan (Clinical Psychologist) recently presented a webinar with practical advice about how to support children’s mental health during the pandemic and beyond. You can watch the replay here:
Recent publications
1. Jones R, Mulhern B, McGregor K, Yip S, O’Loughlin R, Devlin N, Hiscock H, Dalziel K,* on behalf of the Quality Of Life in Kids: Key evidence to strengthen decisions in Australia (QUOKKA) project team. Psychometric performance of HRQoL measures: an Australian pediatric multi-instrument comparison study protocol (P-MIC). 17 August 2021 Children 8(8), 714 doi:10.3390/children8080714
2. Mulraney M, Hiscock H. A systematic review of the persistence of childhood mental health problems into adulthood. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2021 Aug 4;129:182-205. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.030 PMID: 34363845
3. Engaging Parents of Lower-Socioeconomic Positions in Internet- and Mobile-Based Interventions for Youth Mental Health: A Qualitative Investigation (Grace Bloomfields article)
4. Reupert, A., Bee., Hosman, van Doesum, Drost, Falkov…Ruud, T. (in press). Prato Research Collaborative for Change in Parent and Child Mental Health: Principles and recommendations for working with children and parents living with parental mental illness. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
5. Goodyear, M., Allchin, B., Burn, M., von Doussa, H., Reupert, A., Tchernegovski, P., Sheen, J., Cuff, R., Obradovic, A., Solantaus, T., & Maybery, D. (in press). Promoting self-determination in parents with mental illness in adult mental health settings. Journal of Family Nursing.
6. O'Connor M, Arnup S, Mensah F, Olsson C, Goldfeld S, Viner R, Hope S. Natural history of mental health competence from childhood to adolescence. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. PMID: 34400516 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2021-216761
7. Price AM, Bohingamu Mudiyanselage S, Schembri R, Mensah FK, Kemp L, Harris D, Goldfeld S. The impact of nurse home visiting on attendance to formal childcare: 3-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Academic Pediatrics. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.07.022.
8. Lut, I, Lewis K, Wijlaars L, Gilbert R, Fitzpatrick T, Lu H, Guttmann A, Goldfeld S, Lei S, Gunnlaugsson G, Jonsson SH, Mechtler R, Gissler M, Hjern A, Hardelid P. Challenges of using asthma admission rates as a measure of primary care quality in children: An international comparison. Journal of Health Service Research and Policy. PMID: 34315272. doi: 10.1177/13558196211012732.
9. Arat A, Moore H, Goldfeld S, Östberg V, Sheppeard V, Gidding H. Childhood vaccination coverage in Australia: An equity perspective. BMC Public Health. PMID: 34229652. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11345-z.
10. Brown, C., Sanci, L., Hegarty, K. Technology-facilitated abuse in relationships: Victimisation patterns and impact in young people. Computers in Human Behaviour, 2021 – Elsevier. Doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106897
11. Goldfield, Sharon “Children need playgrounds now, more than ever. We can reduce covid risk and keep them open”. The Conversation, 24 August 2021, 8.50am AEST, https://theconversation.com/children-need-playgrounds-now-more-than-ever-we-can-reduce-covid-risk-and-keep-them-open-166562
You can view the full list of publications here !!
Media and advocacy
During lockdown, CRE investigators have been busily advocating for children’s mental health and wellbeing. Investigators have drawn on their expertise to provide practical advice to families during this challenging time. Here are some key pieces:
· Concerned about your child’s mental health? Here are some practical tips from the experts (featuring Prof Ric Haslam, Director of Mental Health at The Royal Children’s Hosptial).
· Chief Psychiatrist ‘comfortable’ with lockdown, mental health consideration (featuring Prof Ric Haslam).
· Spike in children presenting to Victorian Hospitals with mental health issues (featuring Prof Ric Haslam).
· Channel 7's House of Wellness featuring Associate Professor Marie Yap’s (Psychologist) ‘Partners in Parenting program’ (for parents of teens). The Partners in Parenting program provides strategies to help parents support young people and reduce their child’s risk of depression and anxiety problems.
· How to tell if lockdowns are affecting your children and what you can do about it (featuring Prof Sharon Goldfield, Director of the Community Centre for Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital).
· School closures come at a high price for children (featuring Prof Sharon Goldfield).
· Schools must prepare to live with COVID: experts (featuring Prof Sharon Goldfield).
Meet our team
Introducing Meg Bennett
Tell us about yourself?
I’m Meg Bennett, a Clinical Psychology PhD student in the Parenting and Youth Mental Health Lab at Monash University. My PhD project is under the supervision of A/Prof Marie Yap with co-supervisors Prof Andrea Reupert, Prof Patrick Olivier and Prof Tony Jorm. I completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) in 2019 and have since been working as a Research Assistant in the Neurodevelopment Lab at Monash University alongside my studies.
What is something people don't know about you?
Although a lot of people think my name is Megan, Meghan or Margarat my full first name is actually just Meg. However, over the years I have accumulated a whole host of longer nicknames including Megs, Meggles, Meggy Moo, Megatron, Megalodon and Megstar.
What do you hope the CRE will achieve?
To make a substantial difference in the identification and support of families facing adversities such as parental mental illness through working with families and incorporating their first hand needs and lived experience into the supports that are developed.
What are you currently working on in the Centre?
I’m currently working on a project that aims to review the parenting behaviours of parents with anxiety and depression to better understand how we can support them in their parenting needs. I’m also working to develop a digital parenting intervention in partnership with parents with mental health challenges and the IPC Health staff who work with these parents. We hope to integrate this parenting intervention into existing services at IPC Health to provide accessible and sustainable support to families facing parental mental health issues.
What inspires your work?
Knowing that we can make a profound difference in protecting the mental health of children and families facing adversity (including parental mental illness) by empowering parents in their parenting role.
Find out more about Meg’s PhD project here !
