CAHS development services team have produced a series of podcasts to help parents and their GPs navigate the science and the support around child development issues.
By Eric Martin
Children can be challenging patients at the best of times, and often the most complicated part of the consultation is explaining the various treatment pathways and options to parents, especially if a neurological or developmental issue is suspected.
So, the Child and Adolescent Health Services (CAHS) has come up with a digital solution in the form of Kids Health Matters, the new podcast series to help GPs and parents keep abreast of topical medical issues that impact children and the local services available to support families.
According to the CAHS Child Development Service’s Paediatric Head, Dr Brad Jongeling, the eight-episode series, hosted by professional broadcaster and mother of two, Ms Dani Shuey, Coordinator of Nursing, Ms Danielle Engelbrecht, and Dr Adelaide Withers, Respiratory Consultant, represents a new approach to providing accessible information.
“I think it’s been needed in our service for some time. When parents see a clinician or they approach their telehealth support, they’ll be better equipped and more knowledgeable, which is always helpful when supporting your child,” Dr Jongeling said.
“Similarly, GPs have got such a broad range of responsibility across adult and paediatric needs. Keeping up to date can be a challenge and knowing what services are available and how to access them isn’t always easy.
“This series provides an avenue for greater, up-to-date knowledge about these processes, such as how to support language and development and the early signs of developmental challenges.”
The podcast has already attracted more than 5000 listeners.
“It’s a good way of getting a message across and introducing potentially complex topics. The combination of Dani as the broadcaster and Danielle as the nurse meant there is an ability to cross the clinical and parent threshold – we’re all parents, but we’re parents as clinicians,” Dr Jongeling said.
“Having a parent who is not a doctor ask those questions and relate it back to her own journey, with her own children, makes it more applicable. It also enables those questions to be asked that we might not think of as a clinician, because you already know how the hospital and health service works.”
“As a parent myself, I’ve been in those situations where you’re just so anxious for your child, that you don’t always hear fully or completely understand what your doctor is telling you. And there’s no fault with that,” Ms Engelbrecht confirmed.
“But by the time they get to see their nurse, they have calmed enough that the nurse has the time and opportunity to use lay language to explain what the diagnosis means for their child, and the next steps from there. And that’s why nurses and doctors work in partnership so well.”
“A thing I love about this podcast is that our specialist doctors and nurses now have the opportunity to explain their work and what services are available in a way that our listeners can really take the time to digest and understand. The podcast showcases the expertise we have at CAHS, but also shows how well our services work in partnership as a multidisciplinary team, with our doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners.”
The team pointed out that when people thought about CAHS, they often focused on Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) often overlooking the resources provided for families in the community.
“The acute care that is provided at PCH is second to none, but so too is the preventative care and the post-discharge care such as the supports that Child and Adolescent Community Health (CACH) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service deliver,” Ms Engelbrecht said. “Our service structure is quite different and unique to WA, particularly around how our child and community health programs are run and the support that they provide to new mothers and new families, and our Child Development Services.
“Many families aren’t aware of our services and that’s where there is an important link with their GP. They see their GP when they’re concerned about developmental milestones or other issues around their child. Just being able to ask a GP what community supports are available or how to get a referral to CAMHS for example, to access services is invaluable. Being able to hear about things like that in our podcast, to know what’s available for families who are really struggling, are important.
“The more families know about our services, the better they can request and seek the support that they need. Similarly, when listening to our podcast, parents know that it’s factual, evidence-based information, and they can feel empowered to manage health matters for their children.”
Dr Jongeling explained that much of the podcast content was about early intervention and that wasn’t just about seeing someone in the child development service.
“It’s about being part of a parenting group; it’s taking a child to a toy library; it’s being involved with play groups; it’s exposing them to outdoor play. All of those are factors which a podcast series like this can both promote and highlight,” he said.
“While you might also be on a journey to a comprehensive assessment, there’s a whole lot more that can be done to support children in the early intervention phase than specific therapies for a specific diagnosis.
“There is a proliferation of online disinformation or, unfortunately, incorrect information, and parents are struggling to find an accurate resource that they can trust. In these days of social media, it’s essential for parents to have a resource that they know is medically approved. And this is something that the health service can provide – an evidence-based introduction to topics that parents can go to as their first step in exploring issues.”
Presenter and regular guest on the podcast is sleep and respiratory paediatrician Dr Adelaide Withers. She highlighted this misinformation in the community about what was considered normal for sleep, including whether children should be using medication to help them sleep.
“So, we focus in the podcast on what was developmentally normal for kids and when there might be a medical problem causing sleep issues. And we’ve stressed that GPs and child health nurses are the first port of call in that instance, and that they would be able to direct parents appropriately if it might be something like sleep apnoea, or whether they need to see a sleep specialist,” Dr Withers said.
“That was a great episode because we gave people information about what to be concerned about, some simple strategies and when they should seek more advice.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is ‘my child should have perfect sleep’ and ‘everyone else is judging me because my child doesn’t have good sleep.’ It can cause a huge amount of anxiety for parents because there’s a wide range of what’s developmentally normal.
“Some kids just need less sleep than others. They are unsettled and wake up a lot each night. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with that child, or there’s something wrong with your parenting. Sometimes, it can be a sign that there might be something else going on.
“However, parents can be quite scared about sharing this information with their friends because they’re worried about being judged.
“The podcast highlights the huge range of strategies to improve sleep. Which one works depending on that child’s developmental stage, abilities and the family needs because for some people, a child waking up six times a night is not actually a problem for them, while others are expecting their six-month-old baby to sleep for 14 hours – and that’s not going to happen.
“We also focus on support for the parents themselves. If your child is not sleeping well, you’re going to be exhausted and sleep deprived. We encourage parents to see their GP – just for them – because we know that’s got huge impacts on the rest of the family as well.”
Co-host Danielle Engelbrecht said some thought had been put into designing the podcast series to include topics that could be isolating for families.
“Families can feel incredibly isolated,” Ms Engelbrecht said. “I know that feeling as I also have a child with developmental issues. But if your child or young person has a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, ADHD or ASD, it is so important to know that you’re not alone as a family and your child’s not alone.
“There are plenty of people out there who have experienced these issues as well and they do live functional, happy, well-supported lives. But it’s knowing how to get that early intervention. How to get that support and realising that you don’t have to feel embarrassed about this diagnosis or that you’re experiencing this issue.
“We wanted the podcast series to be wide reaching and we were very careful in the subject matter we selected because we wanted there to be something for everyone. There is a great range of topics and I think every parent will find value in listening to the series,” Dr Withers explained.
“But at its heart, it’s about being extremely clear where to get help.
“We see lots of children at CAHS who have chronic medical conditions. And it has a significant impact, not only on a child, but on that child’s family. It has a huge flow on impact, and support is needed and there are services available to help everybody.”
Dr Jongeling said CAHS now had an online referral form for the Child Development Service via the CAHS website and was creating more resources.
“In addition to these resources, the Kids Health Matters podcast is a great start for GPs and families,” he said. “GPs are well placed to know the family and provide that referral to allied health supports, in addition to giving advice around behavioural and educational strategies, which remain essential, even well before a diagnosis is considered.
“They have a great knowledge of neurotypical development and where there’s variation, and the need for support for families – including when they might direct them towards a service such as ours.”