Seeking to Engage ‘Hard‐to‐Reach’ Families: Towards a Transferable Model of Intervention

Abstract

This paper describes an exploratory evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership ‘Room to Play’, an innovative and experimental ‘drop‐in’ service seeking to attract and engage ‘hard‐to‐reach’ families in one of the most deprived areas of a Midlands city. Located in a shop unit of a busy community shopping centre, it offers play and learning activities for children, and provides opportunities for parents to talk to practitioners in a neutral and supportive environment. Through a mixed methods design, the authors attempted to document the core components of a potential transferable model of intervention, within challenging research constraints.

Using the RE‐AIM framework to identify and describe best practice models in family‐based intervention development: A systematic review

“…Two nontraditional settings were found in two studies (Evangelou et al, 2013;Nicholson, Shapley, Martin, Talkington, & Caraway, 2014). Two nontraditional settings were found in two studies (Evangelou et al, 2013;Nicholson, Shapley, Martin, Talkington, & Caraway, 2014).…”

“…Further, there were 13 qualitative studies, three mixed methods (Evangelou, Coxon, Sylva, Smith, & Chan, 2013;Johansson, Carlsson, Östberg, & Sonnander, 2013;Melo & Alarcão, 2012) and 12 quantitative studies. The quantitative studies included randomised control designs, experimental designs, and one semiexperimental design.…”

“…However, many studies (Caldwell et al, 2014;Coyle, 2012;Evangelou et al, 2013;Melo & Alarcão, 2011;Melo & Alarcão, 2012;Melo & Alarcão, 2013;Philipp, 2012;Turner, Richards, & Sanders, 2007;Williamson, Knox, Guerra, & Williams, 2014) did initially target the family or specific father-son, mother-child, or parent-teen dyads. Most of the studies' interventions would first target an individual (through school, universities, clinics, hospitals, and nongovernment organisations) who are either at risk of or have already been diagnosed with some physical or psychological condition.…”

Continuity, Engagement and Integration: Early Intervention in Remote Australian Aboriginal Communities

“…The need for integration of services has frequently been emphasised for families with complex multiple needs, families that are "hard to reach," and for Australian Indigenous families generally (Evangelou, Coxon, Sylva, Smith, & Chan, 2011;Kazdin & Wassell, 1999;Nock, Phil, & Kazdin, 2001;Turner, Richards, & Saunders, 2007;Vries, Goor, Stronks, & Garretsen, 2011). Greenberg (2004) argued that prevention to support child development is fundamentally a matter of integration: (a) integration between systems of care, that is, existing health, education and childcare services (institutional structures not functionally integrated); (b) across levels of care and support (universal or targeted, including clinically oriented treatments); and (c) integration across developmental stages, to meet different developmental needs of children and their families at different stages.…”

Playgroups as sites for parental education

“…In parent-led community playgroups, in particular, it is the component of curriculum that may provide the greatest potential for encouraging positive interactions between parents and children and an understanding of learning through play. This is because in parent-led community playgroup contexts, there is generally minimal involvement from other staff and hence the components associated with relationships, parent information and location, time and space (Evangelou et al, 2013) have, to a large extent, already been determined by the group.…”