Congratulations to my PhD student Sarah Bartlett who traveled to Bathurst to present her PhD proposal. Her topic is: Caregiver-implemented Intervention to Support
Children’s Communication: Considering the Hanen Programs® with
Underserved Communities
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Sarah presenting her endorsement in Bathurst and online
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Prof Sharynne McLeod, Sarah Bartlett, A/Prof Will Letts (Head, School of Education)
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Background. Children’s ability to communicate is supported by family and caregivers during children’s development. Some children have difficulty communicating and have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Caregiver-implemented interventions are family centred and focus on empowering caregivers to support children’s communication development. Hanen® programs are a common exemplar of an evidence-based caregiver-implemented intervention with 57 studies from 15 countries demonstrating the programs’ efficacy, effectiveness and perceived effectiveness. Hanen® programs were developed in Canada and evidence supporting their use largely reflects perspectives of Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic (WEIRD) researchers and participants. Hanen® programs have potential for supporting underserved communities in Australia including families who multilingual, humanitarian migrants, or Indigenous; however, the applicability has not been examined.
Aim. This study aims to understand if caregiver-implemented interventions are suitable or can be modified to be responsive to the communication needs of children and families in underserved communities in Australia.
Method. This PhD program will comprise three parts. A scoping/narrative review will be undertaken to document current evidence for Hanen® programs and the demography of researchers and participants. The PhD candidate received invitations to work with three underserved communities to undertake research regarding the applicability of the Hanen programs: families who are asylum seekers, migrant families from low SES communities, and a rural Indigenous community. Conversations have been undertaken with the communities to consider the acceptability and feasibility of the Hanen® program. If appropriate, the communities will co-develop and adapt elements of Hanen® programs to support caregivers of children who have SLCN. Quantitative and qualitative tools will be identified to measure outcomes of the adapted Hanen® programs during trials in the communities. In response to consultation with the Indigenous community, a Hanen® program will not be implemented. Instead, an international scoping review of services and resources for supporting children with SLCN from Indigenous communities will be undertaken to inform their future community-driven support.
Conclusions. Professionals routinely support families from a range of different cultures. Much of the evidence for interventions typically reflects the values and beliefs of WEIRD communities. It is essential for professionals to provide culturally safe and responsive practices for all families. This PhD program will contribute to co-designing and understanding the acceptability and feasibility of a caregiver-implemented intervention (adapted Hanen® program) to support children’s communication across three underserved communities.
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Sharynne and Sarah on the Bathurst campus
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