ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1517-8173
Current Organisation
Western Sydney University
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Counselling, Welfare and Community Services | Social Policy | Social Work | Developmental Psychology and Ageing
Ethnicity, Multiculturalism and Migrant Development and Welfare | Children's/Youth Services and Childcare |
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/PHN.13014
Abstract: This study aimed to examine the variations in care received by mothers and families within a sustained home visiting program. We sought to identify the extent to which there were variations in home visiting care in response to the program schedule and families’ risk factors. Data collected within the right@home program, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for a sustained nurse home visiting intervention in Australia, were analyzed. A total of 352 women comprised the intervention arm of the trial. Visit content in the home visiting program, sociodemographic data, and families’ risk factors were used for analysis. Our results confirmed that the majority of women received scheduled content on time or within an acceptable timeframe, except for the sleeping program. Women with identified risks were significantly more likely to receive content related to those risks than women without those risks (smoking: Odds Ratio [OR] = 15.39 [95%CI 3.7–64.7], mental health: OR = 15.04 [1.8–124.0], domestic violence: OR = 4.07 [2.0–8.3], and drugs and alcohol: OR = 1.81 [1.1–3.0]). The right@home program had high compliance with the scheduled content. Capacity development in responding to mothers with the risk of domestic violence and drugs and alcohol is recommended. Further research is required to explore the relationship between variations in care and critical outcomes.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 2009
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-02-2021
Abstract: The postnatal period is crucial for infants in establishing a connection with and security in primary caregivers and can have enduring effects on attachment patterns. However, due to the need for symptom management, many infants diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) may be separated from primary caregivers and cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or special care nursery (SCN) soon after birth. Research has shown that substance-exposed infants are more likely to experience insecure attachment patterns with their primary caregivers and that mothers with a history of substance abuse are less sensitive to their infants’ cues. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore nurses’ and midwives’ experiences in promoting the attachment relationship for infants admitted to an NICU/SCN with NAS. A qualitative research design was used to gather data on the experiences of nine nurses/midwives from various NICU and SCN settings in Australia. In idual, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and transcribed interviews were coded using thematic analysis. While nurses/midwives valued the attachment relationship for infants with NAS, facilitation of the attachment relationship was mainly promoted when the mother was present. However, parents were often reported to be absent from the nursery. Difficulties in promoting an attachment relationship were also identified when an infant had child protection involvement. This research identifies areas in need of innovative change regarding the approach taken to promote the attachment relationship for infants with NAS when they are admitted to an NICU/SCN.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.COLEGN.2012.12.001
Abstract: Foster carers have a significant responsibility in caring for children who are unable to live with their birth families and represent a key determinant in child outcomes. Difficulties in recruiting and retaining quality foster carers have resulted in an increase in research investigating foster carers and their experiences in recent years. To synthesise current literature investigating foster carers and their experiences to enable a better understanding of their unique care-giving context. The electronic databases CINAHL, Health Source, MEDLINE, Pscyh-articles, PsycINFO and socilNDEX were searched using the key terms 'foster carer', 'foster parent', 'foster mother' and 'foster father'. Articles were included if they reported primary data about foster carers experiences in the English language. Papers published prior to 2000 were excluded in order to provide a contemporary perspective of the foster carer experience. Data was extracted, tabulated and thematically analysed. The findings from this review revealed the provision of foster care to have both positive and negative effects on foster carers personal well-being. These effects are largely reliant of foster carers perception of their role as either parental or professional, the nature of their relationships with child welfare personnel, and their ability to manage children's difficult behaviours. It is important for nurses to understand caregiving as it occurs in a variety of contexts. Nurses need to have an awareness and understanding of the value and role foster carers have in the lives of vulnerable children. In so doing, nurses are well positioned to assist foster carers to identify and express their needs in relation to their important caregiving role.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SINY.2019.01.004
Abstract: Opioid use disorders and the prescription of long-acting medications for their treatment have increased dramatically over the last decade among pregnant women. Newborns who experience prolonged in utero opioid exposure may develop neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Until recently, much of the focus on improving care for NAS has been on pharmacologically-based care models. Recent studies have illustrated the benefits of rooming-in and parental presence on NAS outcomes. Single center Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives demonstrate the benefits of non-pharmacologic care bundles and symptom prioritization in decreasing the proportion of infants pharmacologically treated and length of hospital stay. Little remains known about the impact of these varied cared models on maternal-infant attachment and mental health. In this review article, we will propose an optimal model of care to improve short- and long-term outcomes for newborns, their mothers and families, and perinatal care systems.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-02-2017
Abstract: Separation and orce are realities faced by many families. Yet in the case of foster and adoptive families, only a small number of studies have looked at the way such experiences affect them. This article seeks to fill this gap by exploring the nature and consequences of separation and orce among foster and adoptive families in Australia and the United States. A thematic analysis of primary and secondary data collected by the authors identified three dominant themes: (1) that orcing foster families experience variable responses from service providers (2) that some adoptive parents perceive that relationship breakdowns compound adoption-related losses and (3) that some adoptees challenge the assumption that the nature and experience of separation and orce among adoptive families is unique. The article concludes by advocating for the provision of clear guidelines for foster and adoptive families experiencing separation or orce, and highlights the need for supportive community responses to help those affected.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2019
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-02-2016
Publisher: Western Sydney University
Date: 2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHIABU.2021.105360
Abstract: Breastfeeding supports infant health, growth and development, and promotes maternal attachment and sensitive caregiving. Maternal separation due to child protection concerns can result in termination of breastfeeding with associated adverse outcomes. How to preserve breastfeeding when infants are placed in out-of-home care is an issue of concern. To consider the views of foster carers towards provision of breastmilk and breastfeeding for infants in their care. Foster carers (including kinship carers), in Australia, who had cared for at least one infant in the years 2013-2018 completed an online survey. Foster carer's views were collected via an online survey and subjected to content analysis. Respondents (n = 184) expressed mixed views about mothers breastfeeding during contact visits, increased frequency of contact visits for breastfeeding and the provision of expressed breastmilk to infants in their care. Concerns were raised about the safety of breastmilk from mothers abusing substances and the value of breastfeeding if reunification was not possible. Because of these concerns, some carers discarded expressed breastmilk and resisted frequent contact. Conversely, breastfeeding was also viewed positively as a way for mothers to maintain attachment with their infants, where reunification of the mother-infant dyad was the goal. This study highlights foster carers' view of breastfeeding as a facilitator of attachment between mothers and their infants. While fosters carers were largely supportive of breastfeeding as a way to improve infant health and facilitate mother-infant attachment, they held concerns regarding the safety of breastmilk supplied to them.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-04-2013
DOI: 10.1093/BJSW/BCS047
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHIABU.2021.105341
Abstract: In order for foster care placements to be considered good, research has identified that children need to experience love and belonging in the home. It is therefore important that foster carer recruitment target in iduals who are able and willing to attempt to provide love and belonging to the children placed with them. To quantify the extent to which and how foster carer agencies represent love and belonging in foster carer recruitment materials. Foster carer recruitment material collected in New South Wales (NSW), Australia between August 2016 and March 2017. Phrases including the word "love," "belong," or "belonging" or text that described aspects of belonging were identified in recruitment materials and coded using conventional content analysis. Eleven agencies (42%) did not address the need for children to be loved in foster care, ten agencies (38%), did not address the need for children to experience belonging in foster care, and eight agencies (31%) did not address either love or belonging in recruitment materials. Where recruitment materials included the word love, it was used in a very limited way. Belonging was more explicitly and practically addressed however, some recruitment materials contained content describing policy or encouraging practice that would undermine belonging. In order to recruit foster carers who are willing to attempt to provide love and belonging to children, recruitment materials need to be clear that children in foster care need to be loved and to feel like they belong and that foster carers should seek to provide this.
Publisher: RCN Publishing Ltd.
Date: 19-09-2017
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 15-08-2022
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-02-2021
Abstract: The global incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has increased significantly in the last decade. Symptoms of NAS manifest from the central and autonomic nervous systems as well as the gastrointestinal system and vary in severity and duration. The clinical management of infants experiencing NAS is dependent on symptoms and may include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. In cases where symptoms are severe, infants may be admitted to special care nurseries or neonatal intensive care units. Existing research on nurses’ involvement in caring for infants with NAS focuses on pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to treat physical symptoms associated with NAS. This research sought to add to the body of knowledge around NAS and conveys nurses’ and midwives’ experiences of delivering care for infants with NAS. Semi-structured interviews were held with nine nurses/midwives. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Five themes emerged from the data. These themes are: Complex care needs Prioritising physiological care Experiencing compassion fatigue Lacking continuity of care and Stigma. The findings demonstrated the complex nature of care provision for infants with NAS. Competing priorities and the stigmatising nature of NAS threaten optimal care being delivered to these vulnerable infants and their parents.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-2012
Abstract: Stigma is a powerful social phenomenon with insidious health implications. Understanding stigma as it applies to various populations is imperative for nurses as it enables nurses to enhance in idual patient care and nurses are well positioned to influence both social and health care policies which may exacerbate the experience of stigma. This article is a report of a study to explore the experiences of women who provide long-term foster care. Interviews were conducted with 20 women who provided long-term foster care in Australia. Data were coded according to the components of stigma described by Link and Phelan (2001). Findings reveal participants rejected the label of foster carer to avoid the negative stereotype. When unable to conceal their foster carer label, participants experienced social isolation and status loss. Moreover, participants felt marginalized and disempowered within the governing systems.
Publisher: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
Date: 26-05-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 14-03-2023
DOI: 10.1155/2023/2422367
Abstract: Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often over-represented in child protection and out-of-home care services. Despite this fact, little is known or understood about their experiences with these services. This scoping review seeks to identify the published literature about children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are engaged with child protection and out-of-home care services. Findings from the 18 studies included in this review show that these children are at increased risk of entering the child protection and out-of-home care system, with outcomes that do not fare as favourably as their nondisabled peers. This is largely due to a lack of support, training, and resources for the children, their families, and carers. Placement failure was a common theme with residential care more likely for children with greater complexity and support needs. These children are understudied, with more research needed to better understand the factors that contribute to their experiences. Greater insights into how a child protection and out-of-home care pathway can be avoided, via the provision of adequate services and supports, are also urgently needed so that fewer children are placed at risk in a system where poor outcomes are common.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-03-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12913-022-07666-3
Abstract: To synthesise and analyse the existing literature regarding parent satisfaction with sustained home visiting care for mothers and children. Sustained home visiting is a service delivery mechanism of both prevention and intervention, in which people receive structured support services within their home environment over an extended period of months or years. For the purposes of this paper, sustained home visiting refers to in-home nursing support to address health inequities for mothers and young children. Sustained home visiting programs have been found to support improved health, wellbeing, and developmental outcomes for children and families. However, there is limited knowledge with regards to the level of parent satisfaction with care provided at home, and the factors and elements of care parents perceive to be critical to their satisfaction. It is important for healthcare practitioners to understand what practices and process parents consider to be a priority in securing their ongoing engagement. Integrative review. PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO. A multi-step approach was used to search and retrieve peer-reviewed studies from the databases. Study selection, data extraction, data synthesis and critical appraisal were undertaken by two independent researchers. A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria, including nine quantitative and four qualitative studies. The review found that parents provided with home visiting interventions had higher levels of satisfaction with care than those who received routine or facility-based care. Service dose was a factor associated with parent satisfaction, however, the direction of impact on parent satisfaction was mixed. Other elements of care parents perceived as important to service satisfaction included the nurse-client relationship, being treated with respect, empowerment, and emotional support. While it is critically important that home visiting practitioners provide evidence-based care and interventions, it is equally important that services are delivered in the context of positive and empowering relationships. Further research is recommended to understand the care process and mechanisms that enhance parent satisfaction and positive experiences, providing optimal quality of care.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-05-2018
DOI: 10.1080/24694193.2018.1470703
Abstract: The number of early primary school (EPS) children (aged 4-8 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) rises each year. Intensive insulin therapy (IIT) can be challenging for these children, as adult support may not be available in the school setting. Diabetes educators (DEs) working in the health system facilitate school diabetes care, which can be time-consuming given the large numbers of children with diabetes. These factors are potential barriers for IIT use in the EPS setting. To explore the experiences of Australian DEs who facilitate IIT use in the EPS setting, a qualitative, narrative inquiry method was used to conduct semi-structured telephone interviews with Australian DEs (n = 13) between December 2014 and June 2016. The interview transcript data were analyzed using a narrative analytical approach. Approaches to facilitate IIT use in the EPS setting were normalizing IIT at diagnosis, simple care plans and insulin pump therapy, prioritizing school support, DEs in private practice, and working with school nurses and parents. Despite numerous barriers, Australian DEs implemented varied methods to facilitate IIT use in the EPS setting.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-07-2020
DOI: 10.1002/HPJA.274
Abstract: Early primary school children with diabetes require adult support for insulin therapy and primary school teachers often fulfil this health promotion role. Availability of support is inconsistent across Australia and insulin administration at school is avoided for some children. The aims of the study were to explore the experiences of Australian early primary school teachers who were supporting a student using intensive insulin therapy and to identify facilitators and implications of this support. A qualitative research design using narrative inquiry was utilised. Early primary school teachers (n = 11) from six Australian states/territories and across Government, Catholic and independent schools participated in semi-structured telephone interviews between August 2015 and May 2016. Narrative analysis was used to interpret the interview data. Six narrative threads told a collective story of early primary school teachers' experience of supporting a student using intensive insulin therapy. The factors that facilitated support were: suitable class allocation, a transition process, and diabetes education and diabetes models of care. The implications of providing intensive insulin therapy support were legal considerations and burden of responsibility. The outcome was that all teachers supported intensive insulin therapy. School teachers in this study had a pivotal role in promoting the health of students with type 1 diabetes. This role was often associated with anxiety and the burden of responsibility. Support strategies for teachers include formal diabetes skills training, ongoing assistance from both teacher's aides and Diabetes Educators, and greater understanding of the legal aspects of intensive insulin therapy support. The development of consistent health promotion policy for students with type 1 diabetes across all Australian schools is required. SO WHAT?: Adopting the supportive strategies for teachers identified in this study will further promote the health of early primary school children with type 1 diabetes.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2013
DOI: 10.5172/CONU.2013.44.1.87
Abstract: Foster carers have a significant responsibility in caring for vulnerable children. In order to support and facilitate foster carers it is important to understand how they perceive and fulfil this responsibility. A qualitative story-telling study, informed by feminist perspectives, was used to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 20 women providing long-term foster care in Australia. Thematic analysis revealed these women characterised themselves as mothers, rather than paid carers, to the long-term foster children in their care. Using this maternal self-perception as the starting point, this paper reveals some of the challenges and difficulties participants encountered when mothering within the confines of the child protection system. Implications for nursing practice are discussed. These implications focus on ways that nurses can effectively support foster carers, thus optimising the health and well-being of the vulnerable children in their care.
Publisher: RCN Publishing Ltd.
Date: 09-2013
DOI: 10.7748/NR2013.09.21.1.8.E333
Abstract: To describe the challenges related to being an 'insider' researcher in a study that uses a feminist-informed storytelling research design and to discuss practical strategies to manage these challenges. The positioning of the researcher in qualitative research has numerous methodological implications. Often, qualitative researchers share similar experiences or characteristics with their participants. Such an 'insider' position provides challenges for the researcher in conducting the research. Understanding these challenges and planning how to manage them is beneficial for the researcher and for the conduct of the project. This paper is based on the research team's experience of undertaking a feminist-informed storytelling study exploring the experiences of Australian women providing long-term foster care. This paper provides a discussion of the methodology used in the investigation. Four challenges resulting from the insider status of the primary researcher were identified as affecting the research: assumed understanding, ensuring analytic objectivity, dealing with emotions and participants' expectations. Strategies to address these challenges include: 'participant probing', 'researcher reflexivity', review by an 'outsider' researcher, identifying the risk, debriefing, making the aims and use of study outcomes clear, and acknowledging participants' expectations. Methods to implement these strategies are described. The use of an insider researcher was beneficial to our study design and helped with recruitment and rapport, enabling collaboration and the generation of stories rich in content. By identifying the challenges associated with insider research and using strategies to mitigate them, researchers can effectively use an insider position in conjunction with a storytelling research design. ImplicaTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH/PRACTICE: Further investigation of the insider in different qualitative research designs would be useful in identifying challenges and benefits specific to those designs.
Publisher: Western Sydney University
Date: 2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-04-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.15509
Abstract: Meth hetamine (MA) is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the world, after cannabis. There are limited data on the outcomes of pregnant MA users but there is rapidly emerging evidence to suggest that they are more vulnerable, marginalized and impoverished compared with other drug‐using mothers. MA use during pregnancy is associated with worse pregnancy outcomes and significantly higher rates of co‐existing health and psychosocial problems. Newborn infants exposed to MA are at increased risk of perinatal complications, present differently at birth to infants exposed to other drugs of dependency such as opioids and have poorer neurological adaptation and feeding difficulties. Sparse literature from neuroimaging and cohort studies suggests that the neurocognitive deficits in MA exposed children persist, even into adulthood. Current clinical practice guidelines for the care of substance exposed pregnant women are opioid‐centric with little attention paid to the consequences of prenatal MA exposure.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-04-2021
Abstract: Parental substance misuse and mental health issues are major factors associated with infant placement into out-of-home care. Such placements may result in disruption and/or cessation of breastfeeding. Provision of breastmilk to infants in out-of-home care (OOHC) is desirable in terms of infant health and development, and also in supporting maternal caregiving. However, little is known about how breastfeeding is supported for infants in out-of-home care. This study used an online survey to explore the facilitation of breastfeeding in the context of OOHC and foster carers’ management of expressed breastmilk (EBM). Foster carers were generally open to the idea of maternal breastfeeding and infants in their care receiving EBM from their mothers. However, the majority of respondents expressed concern regarding the safety of EBM for infant consumption due to the possibility of harmful substances in the milk. Concerns regarding the safety of handling EBM were also prevalent. These concerns caused foster carers to discard EBM. Findings suggest foster carers’ may lack knowledge related to maternal substance use and breastmilk. Better integration between health care and social service systems, where the voices of mothers, foster carers and child protection workers are heard, is necessary to develop solutions enabling infants living in OOHC access to their mother’s breastmilk.
Location: Australia
Start Date: 07-2020
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $378,107.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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