Perspectives on ParentWorks: Learnings from the development and national roll-out of a self-directed online parenting intervention

Abstract

Online parenting interventions are an increasingly viable alternative to face-to-face programs, as they can potentially overcome barriers to participation and increase program reach. The current paper describes learnings from the design, development and dissemination of ParentWorks, a self-directed online parenting intervention designed to be inclusive of both mothers and fathers.ParentWorks was promoted via a national media campaign and was accessible to all Australian parents through a dedicated website. Participants created a user account, engaged in a series of video modules, and completed assessment measures at pre-, post-program and 3-month follow-up. For two-caregiver families, parents were encouraged to participate together using a shared account. There was no direct practitioner support, although a range of innovative automated features were included to enhance participant motivation and encourage program completion.Several key lessons emerged from program development and implementation. These relate primarily to design and content of the program website, user account functionality, program structure and features, and data collection. Further research is needed particularly with regard to methods for increasing participant retention in self-directed online programs.The learnings described here will be relevant to those researching and developing online parenting interventions as well as other online mental health interventions aiming to reach a large population sample.

Effectiveness–implementation hybrid-2 randomised trial of a collaborative Shared Care Model for Detecting Neurodevelopmental Impairments after Critical Illness in Young Children (DAISY): pilot study protocol

“…However, healthcare professional-led parent programmes have demonstrated better patient outcomes than selfdirected programmes. 34 Access to care Currently, there is no routine, standardised follow-up care and support provided to children and their parents following all critical illnesses and injuries in Australia. Furthermore, the geographical isolation of many Australian families and recent pandemic crises have highlighted the barriers to accessing traditional treatment services.…”

“…Self-directed parent programmes have greater potential for uptake as they do not require trained professionals to guide and can typically be implemented at a reduced cost. However, healthcare professional-led parent programmes have demonstrated better patient outcomes than self-directed programmes 34…”

Teacher Intervention for Coping with Students’ Learning Difficulties of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah in the Covid-19 Social Restrictions

“…That is a direct intervention by providing individual guidance to students at home (Collins et al, 2019). Then Cornett et al (2020) that teachers learn by visiting students' homes to support individual learning.…”

“…It is not conducive. They lack attention from parents or family because they work for a living (Collins et al, 2019;Al-Nasa'h et al, 2021). According to Li and Che (2022), all citizens continue to carry out the education and learning process with new adaptations.…”

The Therapist-assisted Online Parenting Strategies (TOPS) program for parents of adolescents with clinical anxiety or depression: Development and feasibility pilot

“…However, most existing programs are face to face, and the population-level benefits are hindered by an ongoing problem of low engagement levels, in part due to logistical difficulties (Finan et al, 2018). The online approach is one promising avenue to increase the reach of parenting programs, with online parenting programs such as ‘Triple P Online’ (Ralph and Sanders, 2004) for externalising problems and ‘Cool Little Kids Online’ (Morgan et al, 2015) for anxiety representing web-based versions of effective face-to-face programs (Collins et al, 2019; McLellan et al, 2017). However, there are currently no transdiagnostic online parenting interventions for clinical anxiety and depression in adolescents (Yap et al, 2017a) and a systematic review of technology-assisted parenting programs has found ‘Partners in Parenting’ (PiP) is the only program to target adolescent internalising problems (Hansen et al, 2019).…”