Implementation and Evaluation of the F-words for Child Development at an Organizational Level

In December 2019, CanChild’s F-words Research and Knowledge Translation Team and three Ontario partner organizations (Children’s Treatment Network, Halton Region Children’s Developmental Services, and KidsInclusive/EnfantsInclus-Kingston Health Sciences Centre) received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Planning and Dissemination Grant to work in partnership to develop a multi-organization F-words implementation and evaluation plan throughout 2020. Since January 2020, we have worked with these three organizations and three additional organizations - Specialized Services for Children and Youth (SSCY) in Manitoba, Mushkegowuk in Northern Ontario, and Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy in New Zealand - to develop and implement a pilot study that evaluates the implementation and perceived impact of the F-words across these six organizations.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are to:

i) determine the effectiveness of a multi-faceted F-words implementation intervention at the organizational level; and

ii) explore the perceived impact of the F-words on service providers, parents/caregivers, and youth.

Our team has been working collaboratively and actively with each organization to identify barriers to and facilitators of F-words implementation and to purposefully select implementation strategies that target barriers and leverage facilitators. Throughout the next year, our team will work with each organization to support the implementation of the F-words using the identified implementation strategies and support pre-post data collection (i.e., surveys, interviews, focus groups). Results will provide evidence of impact and help to inform the design of a larger-scale evaluation study.

If you're interested in learning more about this study, please contact fwords@mcmaster.ca

Research Team

Principal Investigators

Andrea Cross, Postdoctoral Fellow, Assistant Professor (part-time) CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, School of Rehabilitation Science, Department of Pediatrics;

Peter Rosenbaum, Professor of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Co-Founder, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research

Co-Investigators

CanChild:

Jan Willem Gorter, Professor of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Director, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research;

Rachel Teplicky, Business and Engagement Officer, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research;

Dayle McCauley, Research Development Officer, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research,

Danijela Grahovac, Parent, Senior Technical Support Analyst, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research partner);

Vanessa Tomas, Ph.D. candidate, University of Toronto, Research Assistant, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research;

Alice Soper, Ph.D. student, McMaster University, Research Assistant, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research;

Brittany Harding, Research Assistant, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research

KidsInclusive/EnfantsInclus – Kingston Health Sciences Centre:

Margaret van Beers, Director, KidsInclusive/EnfantsInclus;

Tabitha Morton, Data and Communication Coordinator, KidsInclusive/EnfantsInclus

Children’s Treatment Network (CTN):

Kim Hesketh, Manager, Rehabilitation Services, CTN;

Heather Hamilton, Parent, Program Coordinator, Family Resource Program, CTN;

Marisha Holmberg, Evaluation Analyst, CTN

Halton Region Children’s Developmental Services:

Genevieve McMurdie, Supervisor, Inclusion Services, Halton Region Children’s Developmental Services

Specialized Services for Children and Youth (SSCY):

Kristy Wittmeier, Director of Research, SSCY, Associate Professor, Pediatrics and Child Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Centre, University of Manitoba; Elizabeth Hammond, Research Associate, Rehabilitation Centre for Children, SSCY

Mushkegowuk Special Needs Strategy:

Betty Gunner, Special Needs Family Services Lead, Mushkegowuk

Jessie Gunner, Family Services Manager, Mushkegowuk, Omushkego Education Department

Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy:

Margaret Jones, NZROT, PhD, Senior Lecturer, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology;

Julia Hill, NZRPT, PhD, Senior Lecturer, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology;

Arul Hammill, NZROT, Director, Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy;

Lucy Charles, NZROT, Director, Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy

Funding Agency