UNICEF’s Playful Parenting Program in Serbia: Initial Findings

• In Event: Global Parenting Interventions: Advances in Measurement and Scale Up

Abstract

Study Objectives: To generate evidence into the implementation and scaling of the UNICEF playful parenting program in Serbia.

Background: Although UNICEF has worked closely with the World Health Organization to implement the Nurturing Care Framework, we have insufficient information from their programs to provide guidance on how best to implement such programs at scale. "Scale" in this case means both horizontal scaling across different municipalities in Serbia, and vertical scaling from UNICEF to the government health ministry, to local governments, and throughout the health system to sustain the program. At the initial stage, research is needed to identify features of the program that will influence how well the program is brought to scale.
Method: Data collected on the UNICEF playful parenting program includes initial intake interviews with local and headquarter program managers, and observations of trainer and workforce training. The intake interviews focus on attributes of the program and the resource team (UNICEF) that both facilitate and hinder scaling. Observations of workforce training focus on how the content of the program and the skills needed for delivery are imparted to a professional workforce (mainly home visiting nurses). The research is in its first of a five-year continuous process.

Results: The Playful Parenting program in Serbia intends to start implementation in six municipalities and then to expand in subsequent years to 27 and finally to 158 municipalities. Conditions mentioned by program managers that need to be overcome quickly in order to scale the program include: parents' current lack of play with infants; low father involvement in child care; and the prevalent medical model of service.
Interviews were coded using ExpandNet's (WHO, 2010) conditions for scalability:
Credible: There is currently no evidence from past programs (in Paraguay) that the Unicef version of Playful Parenting reaps benefits for children or changes the practices of parents. However, the reputation of Unicef lends credibility to the program.
Observable: Professional health workers have been impressed with the results they see in their practices. However, parents have not yet expressed their benefits.
Relevant: Messages about the need for play materials and activities and for father involvement are needed according to surveys.
Relative advantage over existing practices: The current practices to focus solely on the health needs of the mother and child are known by health professionals to be limited. Observations of workforce training indicate a willingness to adopt new messages about child development.
Easy to install and understand: Changing norms of play with infants and father engagement with children will not be easy. However, because the reputation of home visiting nurses is positive, the hope is that they will be able to change norms.
Compatible with user norms: Because the current norms are different, media advocacy is being used to changes values and norms.
Testable: The local government and UNICEF office are committed to implementing the program as a whole in 6 municipalities before testing it.

Group Authors

"As per Anne Perdue please consider these flash talks as one session. They should either be accepted or rejected as a whole.

Flash talks should be ordered as follows: 1707093, 1705221, 1705962, 1707008, 1705220, 1705994, 1706107, 1706048"

Author

• Ksenija Kristic, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy
  Presenting Author