Honouring the Past – Focusing on Community Child Health Nursing

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Presenter: Dr Elaine Bennett

Date of presentation: 27th October 2016

Abstract

Nursing has a long history of providing community child
health services to families and children in Australia. Two
recent studies will be presented which demonstrate that
overtime there have been changes in models of care and
that nurses have adapted as society has changed and as
new evidence emerges.
The first is a mixed method case study exploring the
history of Early Parenting Service organisations around
Australia. This study considered the nursing role within the
context of an interdisciplinary team. Outcomes for families
with vulnerabilities are enhanced when nurses work
collaboratively within an interdisciplinary team environment.
A three-phased approach was used. It commenced with a
focus on Ngala in Western Australia, and then phase two
moved to a broader context of national early parenting
services. The qualitative data from phases one and two
informed the third phase of a national survey. A key finding
was a workforce development framework to guide future
directions.
The findings from the first study informed a further
qualitative study which explored the perceptions of how
nurses and social workers work together with a family
providing psychosocial support. It was an exploratory
case study approach and aimed to generate an in-depth
understanding of the roles of nurses and social workers when
working jointly with a family. Semi-structured interviews
were undertaken. Analysis revealed four themes: They
related to the “journey” experienced by the new service,
team, partnering practitioners and individuals’ professional
growth over the 12 month period. The findings presented
build on the evidence on interdisciplinary approaches to
working with families and can contribute knowledge to
workforce development and alternative options for care
with complex families.
The learnings from both these studies will assist others
to consider the advantages of nurses working within
interdisciplinary models to provide appropriate and effective
care to families with young children.