Updates
Babies herald launch of BCHCP
Some 50 babies have now been born to moms enrolled in the BC Healthy Connections Project (BCHCP).
Every baby is a miracle. But these 50 are extra-special miracles because they herald the launch of an exciting new research project.
They are all part of phase 1 of the BCHCP that started in the summer of 2012. “The goal is for BC public health nurses to practise and consolidate their newly acquired skills,” says Nicole Catherine, Scientific Director for BCHCP.
The purpose of BCHCP is to conduct a scientific evaluation of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) prevention program. Developed by David Olds in the United States more than 30 years ago, NFP involves nurses visiting young mothers in their homes, starting prenatally and continuing until children are two years old.
NFP’s creators had three primary goals for the program: improving prenatal outcomes, preventing child maltreatment, and enhancing parental competence and economic self-sufficiency. Because NFP was always intended as a targeted primary prevention program, the developers focused on high-risk, low-income, first-time mothers. NFP has been shown to reduce child maltreatment and antisocial behaviour while also improving child and maternal mental health over the long term.
But the question remains: can this success be repeated in Canada?
Dr. Cindy Blackstock to visit SFU as 2013 Mowafaghian Visiting Scholar
The Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Dr. Cindy Blackstock (right) will be the third annual Mowafaghian Visiting Scholar, speaking at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue on Wednesday, May 8.
Her topic: Mosquito advocacy: Effective strategies for tackling structural risks affecting First Nations children.
Autism study findings being prepared for publication…
In a qualitative study we examined the sometimes-contentious arena of policy-making for children with autism. We explored the perspectives of policy-makers, researchers and parents of children with autism to learn how programs and services for these and other vulnerable children may be improved.
We completed interviews with people from all three groups, across the country, and presented our findings at the May 2012 International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) held in Toronto. Research participants will be sent a report and given the chance to provide feedback.
Findings are now being prepared for publication.
Project on indicators for monitoring BC children’s mental health is complete
Our project on the indicators for monitoring BC children’s mental health in the population is now complete. This project explored how we may use existing public data to develop indicators for monitoring Children’s mental health outcomes in British Columbia. Our findings are now being shared with policy-makers. As well, a paper has been accepted for peer-reviewed publication and a link will be published on this website as soon as it is available.