Does place matter in the implementation of an evidence-based program policy in an Australian place-based initiative for children?

Policy-mandated requirements for use of evidence-based programs (EBP) in place-based initiatives are becoming more common. Little attention has been paid to the geographic aspects of uneven market development and urbanicity in implementing EBPs in large place-based initiatives. The aim of this study was to explore geographic variation in knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of service providers who implemented an EBP policy in Australia's largest place-based initiative for children, Communities for Children.

Place-based approaches to improve health and development outcomes in young children: A scoping review.

This scoping review examines the strength of evidence for the effectiveness of public policy-led place-based initiatives designed to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children, their families and the communities in which they live. Study designs and methods for evaluating such place-based initiatives were assessed, along with the contexts in which initiatives were implemented and evaluated. Thirty-two reports relating to 12 initiatives were included.

Protocol for the Adaptation of a Direct Observational Measure of Parent-Child Interaction for Use With 7-8-Year-Old Children.

Objective: Parenting sensitivity and mutual parent-child attunement are key features of environments that support children's learning and development. To-date, observational measures of these constructs have focused on children aged 2-6 years and are less relevant to the more sophisticated developmental skills of children aged 7-8 years, despite parenting being equally important at these ages. We undertook a rigorous process to adapt an existing observational measure for 7-8-year-old children and their parents.

Tablet-based adaptation and administration of the Castles and Coltheart Reading Test 2 for a large longitudinal study.

Tablet-adapted measures provide an efficient, accurate method of data collection for large-scale studies. The Castles and Coltheart Reading Test 2 (CC2) is a standardized paper-and-pencil measure of children's reading ability. In the current study, the CC2 was administered to 603 children aged 7-8 years via iPad using electronic data capture software.

Modelling the early expressive communicative trajectories of infants/toddlers with early cochlear implants.

For children with normal hearing (NH), early communication skills predict vocabulary, a precursor to grammar. Growth in early communication skills of infants with cochlear implants (CIs) was investigated using the Early Communication Indicator (ECI), a play-based observation measure. Multilevel linear growth modelling on data from six ECI sessions held at three-monthly intervals revealed significant growth overall, with a non-significant slower growth rate than that of children with NH (comparison age centred at 18 months).

Ethical Considerations in Using Social Media to Engage Research Participants: Perspectives of Australian Researchers and Ethics Committee Members.

Researchers increasingly use social media (SM) to recruit, retain, and trace participants, yet empirical literature investigating the ethics of engaging participants via SM is lacking. We conducted a survey of 401 Australian researchers and human research ethics committee (HREC) members to examine their experience, attitudes, and ethical concerns toward engaging participants via SM. Data revealed that researchers and HREC members share similar concerns and attitudes about using SM in general and in research.

Using Paid and Free Facebook Methods to Recruit Australian Parents to an Online Survey: An Evaluation.

Background: The prevalence of social media makes it a potential alternative to traditional offline methods of recruiting and engaging participants in health research. Despite burgeoning use and interest, few studies have rigorously evaluated its effectiveness and feasibility in terms of recruitment rates and costs, sample representativeness, and retention.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using Facebook to recruit employed Australian parents to an online survey about managing work and family demands, specifically to examine (1) recruitment rates and costs; (2) sample representativeness, compared with a population-based cohort of parents; and (3) retention, including demographic and health characteristics of parents who returned to complete a follow-up survey 6 weeks later.

Ethical issues in using the internet to engage participants in family and child research: A scoping review.

Background: The internet is an increasingly popular tool in family and child research that is argued to pose new ethical challenges, yet few studies have systematically assessed the ethical issues of engaging parents and children in research online. This scoping review aims to identify and integrate evidence on the ethical issues reported when recruiting, retaining and tracing families and children in research online, and to identify ethical guidelines for internet research.

Methods: Academic literature was searched using electronic academic databases (Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC, CINAHL and Informit) and handsearching reference lists for articles published in English between January 2006 and February 2016.

EHLS at School: school-age follow-up of the Early Home Learning Study cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Targeted interventions during early childhood can assist families in providing strong foundations that promote children's health and wellbeing across the life course. There is growing recognition that longer follow-up times are necessary to assess intervention outcomes, as effects may change as children develop. The Early Home Learning Study, or 'EHLS', comprised two cluster randomized controlled superiority trials of a brief parenting intervention, smalltalk, aimed at supporting parents to strengthen the early childhood home learning environment of infants (6-12 months) or toddlers (12-36 months).

What Influences Parental Engagement in Early Intervention? Parent, Program and Community Predictors of Enrolment, Retention and Involvement.

Poor participant engagement undermines individual and public health benefits of early intervention programs. This study assessed the extent to which three types of engagement (participant enrolment, retention and involvement) were influenced by individual, program and contextual factors. Data were from a cluster randomised controlled trial (N = 1447) of a community-based parenting program, delivered at two levels of intensity (group sessions with and without individualised home coaching) conducted in Victoria, Australia.

What Influences Parents' Fear about Children's Independent Mobility? Evidence from a State-Wide Survey of Australian Parents.

Purpose: To identify factors associated with generalized and stranger-specific parental fear (PF) about children's independent mobility (CIM), a critical aspect of physical activity.

Design: Cross-sectional survey; random sampling frame, minimum quotas of fathers, rural residents.

Setting: State of Victoria, Australia.

The Agreement between Parent-Reported and Directly Measured Child Language and Parenting Behaviors.

Parenting behaviors are commonly targeted in early interventions to improve children's language development. Accurate measurement of both parenting behaviors and children's language outcomes is thus crucial for sensitive assessment of intervention outcomes. To date, only a small number of studies have compared parent-reported and directly measured behaviors, and these have been hampered by small sample sizes and inaccurate statistical techniques, such as correlations.

Enhancing the early home learning environment through a brief group parenting intervention: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: The quality of the home learning environment has a significant influence on children's language and communication skills during the early years with children from disadvantaged families disproportionately affected. This paper describes the protocol and participant baseline characteristics of a community-based effectiveness study. It evaluates the effects of 'smalltalk', a brief group parenting intervention (with or without home coaching) on the quality of the early childhood home learning environment.

Improving mental health of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes: protocol for a randomized controlled trial of the Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained online adolescent and parenting support intervention.

Background: Management of Type 1 diabetes comes with substantial personal and psychological demands particularly during adolescence, placing young people at significant risk for mental health problems. Supportive parenting can mitigate these risks, however the challenges associated with parenting a child with a chronic illness can interfere with a parent's capacity to parent effectively. Interventions that provide support for both the adolescent and their parents are needed to prevent mental health problems in adolescents; to support positive parent-adolescent relationships; and to empower young people to better self-manage their illness.

Adolescents with type 1 diabetes: parental perceptions of child health and family functioning and their relationship to adolescent metabolic control.

Background: Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) show less effective metabolic control than other age groups, partly because of biological changes beyond their control and partly because in this period of developmental transition, psychosocial factors can militate against young people upholding their lifestyle and medical regimens. Parents have an important role to play in supporting adolescents to self-manage their disease, but resultant family tensions can be high. In this study, we aimed to assess family functioning and adolescent behaviour/ adjustment and examine the relationships between these parent-reported variables and adolescent metabolic control (HbA1c), self-reported health and diabetes self-care.

Can the onset of type 2 diabetes be delayed by a group-based lifestyle intervention? A randomised control trial.

This study was a randomised control trial with a waiting control group. It was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-month, group-based diabetes prevention programme, The Healthy Living Course and assess whether participation in the programme led to changes in modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes among an already at-risk pre-diabetic population. Individuals designated at risk for diabetes by their general practitioners (GPs) were screened using an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test.