CDU takes on program to support Indigenous mums, infants

The Charles Darwin University College of Nursing and Midwifery will take the reins of a national support service to deliver culturally appropriate support and training for health providers to boost the wellbeing of Indigenous children and their mothers.

The Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) National Support Service aims to provide workforce training and professional support functions including refinement and continuous monitoring of the quality of the ANFPP to suit the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their mothers. 

CDU Professor of Primary Healthcare and ANFPP Director Sue Kruske said the ANFPP program would provide sustained home visiting to women who were pregnant with an Indigenous child through pregnancy until the child was two years old.

The team at CDU will provide ongoing support to the program implementing organisations through workforce training and professional support activities to support the delivery of the program in 13 sites across Australia over the next two years.

Indigenous public health researcher Associate Professor Sandra Campbell who will lead the data team said CDU’s high-level technical expertise is supported by on-the-ground experience of working with Aboriginal community controlled health organisations and Indigenous communities.

“The highly experienced team have careers that span decades working in Indigenous maternal and child health and will ensure that information is provided to the implementing sites in a way that is accessible and meaningful,” Dr Campbell said.

“Our team consists of strong Indigenous leadership.”

With combined backgrounds in Indigenous maternal, child health service delivery and academic enquiry, the team will provide a solid foundation to strengthen both the ANFPP Support Service and delivery of the program at the implementing sites.

Along with supporting home visiting staff with comprehensive training to ensure culturally appropriate, evidence-based home visiting services, the service will undertake forward planning and support activities as required to collect, analyse and report on ANFPP performance of duties and outcomes data.

“Our intention is to bring together nurses, family partnership workers and other implementing site staff together to work together to ensure the ANFPP is contemporary, responsive and contextualised to each individual woman and community,” Professor Kruske said.

The ANFPP is funded through the Australian Government Department of Health.