Delivering Playful Parenting: the Voices of Frontline Providers

• In Event: Scaling up Playful Parenting: Implementation Research Early Findings

Proposal

This presentation presents the voices of the frontline providers of parenting interventions in the LEGO Playful Parenting initiative, charged with the delivery of services with caregivers as the programs go to scale. The providers, who range from health professionals on government payroll, to community-based volunteers selected from among village members, bear the responsibility for the actual implementation of playful parenting on the ground. They are often called to support other health priorities of the government, particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic response, and may juggle other jobs alongside the support to caregivers. Their realities and their experiences in delivering playful parenting are the cornerstone of successful scale up and sustainability of playful parenting as a core component of early childhood development in each country.
The presentation will draw on different sets of data. The first is workforce surveys, administered between 1 and 3 months after the completion of their training, as they begin providing support to caregivers of young children ages 0-3 years. The surveys, administered to random samples of 150 frontline providers (nurses, health assistants, community-based volunteers) in Bhutan, Rwanda, Serbia and Zambia, measure the participants’ level of comfort and knowledge to deliver playful parenting interventions in home visits and group sessions with parents, the support and supervision they receive, and their experiences in service delivery to caregivers.
In addition to the surveys, the research team conducts in-depth interviews with frontline service providers to obtain further depth and context on their experience and their ability to carry on the playful parenting program interventions. The baseline rounds of interviews are planned for early 2022 and we anticipate that early findings will be available to complement the survey results
Finally, a sample of providers have been selected for in-person observations of their service delivery with caregivers during home visits and group sessions. The standardized protocol for observation was developed by the research team to assess the quality of the session and the capacity of the provider to support parents in offering responsive play and communication to their young children. The protocol examines the providers' rapport with caregivers as they offer opportunities to practice new stimulating activities with their child along with supportive coaching. Approximately 60 providers will be observed in Bhutan, Rwanda, Serbia and Zambia. The observations will be repeated on a biannual basis to track the quality of service delivery over time, and used for cross-national and year-to-year comparisons.

Authors

• Rafael Eduardo Contreras Gomez, FHI 360

• Carina Omoeva, FHI 360

• Karma Choden, FHI 360

• Frances Aboud, McGill University