My Early Relational Health Trust-Informed Learning (MERTIL) for Parents: A Study Protocol for a Bried, Universal, Online, Preventative Parenting Program to Enhance Relational Health

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Publication year

2023

study description

Study Protocol

core topic(s)

Early Relational Health

Population Characteristics

Infant/Newborn

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Parent Behaviors and Skills , Parent Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs , Positive Parenting , Programs and Interventions (other)

objectives

The potential for universal preventative online programs that target parental and relational wellbeing remains under-explored. This paper reports on a protocol for implementing a MERTIL for Parents (My Early Relational Trust-Informed Learning) pilot study describing practitioners' and parents' perspectives on program feasibility and efficacy. MERTIL for Parents is an online, evidence-based, self-paced parenting program that focuses on enhancing parental knowledge of relational trust and its significance for infant development. This low-cost, accessible prevention resource targets emerging relational concerns to reduce later service system engagement.

exposure

MERTIL for Parents (My Early Relational Trust-Informed Learning)

outcomes evaluated

Primary parent outcomes will be socioemotional assessments of program efficacy. Additionally, both practitioners and parents will report on program feasibility.

setting

States of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia

methods

This study is a mixed methods, parallel armed, uncontrolled, repeated measures design. We aim to recruit 48 Australian Maternal and Child Health (MCH) practitioners from the states of Victoria and New South Wales. These professionals will in turn recruit 480 parents with a child aged 0-5 years. All parents will receive MERTIL for Parents, which entails a 40-minute video, tipsheets, posters, and support resources. Parent data will be obtained at three periods: pre-program, program exit, and program follow-up. Practitioner data will be collected at two periods: pre-parent recruitment and program follow-up. Data collection will occur through surveys and focus groups.

sample size

48 Australian MCH practitioners. These professionals will in turn recruit 480 parents with a child aged 0-5 years.

measures

Data collection will occur through surveys and focus groups.

Baseline and three-month post-program questionnaires:

• Socioemotional assessments of program efficacy.
• Program efficacy questions will be both quantitative and qualitative in nature.

Practitioners

• Practitioners will be asked to complete a brief mixed methods online survey, allowing insight into practitioners’ perceptions of the program.

Parents’ online program usage data:

• Automatically collected via the MERTIL for Parents website.
• Record program engagement and completion elements such as i) program completion rates, ii) number of access occasions, iii) program components most/least accessed.

results

Pilot field studies for the MERTIL for Parents program will commence in March 2023.

conclusions

This protocol describes the feasibility and efficacy of a new online parenting program, MERTIL for Parents. The researchers anticipate that this resource will be a valuable addition to various child and family services, for use in individual support and group work.

limitations

First, the brief self-guided content of MERTIL for Parents may not provide adequate content information and support (i.e., program dose too low). Second, as frontline services, practitioners may lack the time to explain and recommend parents to participate in MERTIL for Parents, due to competing demands and scheduling pressures. Third, as the study population pertains only to practitioners and parents located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia, generalizability concerns will be present for interstate Australian and international populations. Fourth, all MERTIL for Parents content is housed online, excluding potential participants who lack the technology or skills to engage with the program, especially as on-demand technical support will not be available for live participant trouble shooting. Moreover, because of this study’s non-randomized sampling strategy, cause-effect relationships cannot be drawn. Thus, parents’ socioemotional outcome changes cannot be causally inferred by their MERTIL for Parents participation. Finally, there is a risk that attrition rates may be high. All parent data will be self-report in nature, and interpretation of findings will therefore be subject to these limitations.