
Parenting+
The Parenting+ Program
We have developed a health literacy training program for new parents called Parenting+. The program embeds graded health literacy skills across a number of health topics relevant to new parents.

Development and piloting
Our program was co-designed with patient partners (new parents) and health staff, and tested in a pilot study funded by Western Sydney Local Health District and Western Sydney Primary Health Network.

What’s next?
We will now employ an effectiveness-implementation hybrid design to examine the replicability and scalability of the project across three Local Health Districts (LHDs). This includes a cluster-randomised controlled trial of the Parenting+ intervention delivered within established New Parents Groups across Western Sydney LHD, Sydney LHD and South Western Sydney LHD compared to standard parenting groups in these LHDs. The trial involves longitudinal data collection (6+12-months) to assess the impact on psychosocial outcomes, health service use and health outcomes. Qualitative methods will provide practical advice on implementation and adaptability of the intervention within and across the LHDs.


Publications to date
Muscat DM, Ayre J, Nutbeam D, Harris A, Tunchon L, Zachariah D, McCaffery KJ. HLRP 2021; 5(4) doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20210911-01
Muscat DM, Ayre J, Nutbeam D, Harris A, Tunchon L, Zachariah D, McCaffery KJ. Health Lit Res Pract. 2020; 4(1):e67-e78. doi: 10.3928/24748307-20200217-01
Ayre J, Costa DSJ, McCaffery KJ, Nutbeam D, Muscat DM. Patient Educ Couns. 2020 pii: S0738-3991(20)30039-2. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.01.012.