Summary: 
In collaboration with three Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), this project will develop new resources for the maternal and early childhood sustained home-visiting program (MECSH), being implemented across remote communities in the Northern Territory. The objectives are to: 
  • Co-create culturally and contextually relevant resources for the program, together with mums and dads in the community and with nurses, Aboriginal Health Practitioners and social care workers within ACCHS. 
  • Test and evaluate the resources to examine how they are understood and received by parents, and their impact on MECSH practice. 
  • Embed high-impact resources into the MECSH program and more widely within health services, through practice guides, dissemination and ongoing support for training. 

Our initial scoping review and priority setting workshops found a need for more appropriate resources to support family partnership and trauma-informed practice, discussion tools for responsive parenting and gaps in information for dads. This project will meet a critical need for resources that can enhance communication, reflection and problem-solving with parents, and can provide support for child development that is based on deep engagement and two-way learning. 

Project dates

This project commenced in January 2022 and is due for completion in June 2025.