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Research

We explored childcare educators’ perceived barriers and facilitators to policy implementation in order to inform the development and implementation of an early childhood education and care (ECEC) specific physical activity policy. This study was part of the Play Active (2019-2023) project which aimed to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based physical activity policy to improve physical activity levels in children attending ECEC.

Research

This study investigated whether the timing of birth of the younger siblings was associated with the risk of the older siblings’ developmental vulnerability in early childhood.

Research

The media plays a powerful role in shaping health-related attitudes and behaviours. We investigated media reports about children's independent mobility (CIM) and associations with parental attitudes towards CIM. CIM-related media reports (newspaper, online, television) during a 3-month period were extracted from two databases.

Research

This study explores how the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic influenced family routines, relationships and technology use (smartphones and tablet computers) among families with infants. Infancy is known to be an important period for attachment security and future child development, and a time of being susceptible to changes within and outside of the family unit.

Research

Current evidence about the prevalence of interparental conflict (IPC) during early parenthood is primarily based on mothers’ reports. Drawing upon Australian longitudinal data from 4136 fathers, the aims of the study were to report on the extent to which fathers report IPC across six biennial time intervals when their children were aged 6–12 months to 10–11 years, identify trajectories of IPC over time and identify postnatal factors (at the initial time point) associated with high risk trajectories of IPC.

Research

The formation of online communities instils a sense of connectedness which can ameliorate the mental health concerns that result from minority stressors for lesbian, gay, queer, intersex, asexual, and other diverse genders/sexualities (LGBTQIA+). The aim of this study was to explore how LGBTQIA + people communicate social and mental health concerns on TikTok.

Research

Contemporary models of NICU care emphasize the critical role of parents in supporting their infant's development. Fathers play an important, but underutilized, role throughout their infant's NICU journey. This narrative review describes the main direct and indirect mechanisms through which fathers support the development of their NICU infant, and the barriers and facilitators to this support as described in current research.

Research

The Act Belong Commit® mental health promotion campaign aims to improve population mental well-being. Based on a social-franchising model, partnerships are sought with organizations offering 'mentally healthy activities' that foster social connectedness and mental well-being. There are four categories of partner organizations sought: Site (government agencies and health services), Associate (organizations with state-wide or national services), Community (local, grass-roots community groups) and Schools.

Research

This paper reports on Aboriginal parents’ perceptions about their involvement in a Western Australian pilot initiative called KindiLink. The program seeks to support parents as their child’s first teacher and thereby enhance Aboriginal children’s early-years development, while strengthening relationships between families and schools. A constructivist paradigm was used to inform the methodology which placed Aboriginal voices at the centre of the research.

Research

This study provides the first evidence on the determinants of uptake of two recent public dental benefit programs for Australian children and adolescents from disadvantaged families. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey linked to administrative data with accurate information on eligibility and uptake, we find that only a third of all eligible families actually claim their benefits.