The TinyStart Evaluation. Reaching Out: Supporting Families
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Project Title |
The TinyStart Evaluation. Reaching Out: Supporting Families |
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Research Focus |
Maternal and Child Health |
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Funder & Dates |
TinyLife via The National Lottery Community Fund The TinyStart Evaluation was an appraisal of the TinyStart Project - a partnership between TinyLife, the Northern Ireland premature and vulnerable baby charity, and the Lifestart Foundation, a charitable body with more than 30 years’ experience in delivering quality parenting education and family support. The five-year project provided unique and specialised services for families of premature infants. August 2015 – July 2021 |
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Evaluation Team |
Dr Fiona Lynn (PI), Ms Rachel Campbell, Dr Jenny McGowan, Dr Kyrsten Corbijn van Willenswaard and Prof Fiona Alderdice |
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Description of Project: Aim; Methods; Expected Outcomes |
What we already knew… The basis for the TinyStart Project came from views expressed by parents/carers of premature infants participating in focus groups conducted in Northern Ireland in January 2014. The parents/carers spoke about the lack of services appropriate to their needs and the need for support on leaving hospital with a premature infant. What the TinyStart Project delivered… TinyLife enhanced their Family Support Services through Parent Support Groups, Home Based Volunteers, Baby Massage and Baby Sensory sessions. In addition, 75 families, residing within three Health and Social Care Trusts (HSCTs) in Northern Ireland, were enrolled onto the Lifestart Growing Child programme. This programme educated parents on their child's development and provided support through monthly home visits with a Lifestart Family Visitor until their child was 3 years old. What we evaluated… The TinyStart Evaluation team, led by Dr Fiona Lynn, set out to understand the profile of parents accessing TinyStart services, their views and experiences, and, for those taking part in the 3-year Growing Child programme, whether there were changes across time in parents’ reports of social support, parental self-efficacy and health-related quality of life. The team also wanted to know what TinyStart staff thought about the partnership between TinyLife and the Lifestart Foundation. How we evaluated… The evaluation surveyed 500 parents accessing TinyLife services, assessed outcomes for 38 parents enrolled on the Growing Child programme, and interviewed 13 parents and three TinyStart staff about their experiences. What we found… We found that parents’ opinions of TinyLife Family Support Services were uniformly positive with parents valuing the support, enjoying the social aspect, appreciating the opportunity to ask advice from staff, exchanging tips and experiences with other parents, along with the welcoming, safe and friendly environment. Parents participating in the Growing Child Programme reported improvements in structural social support, parental self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life. Their experiences were consistently positive, with reports of receiving support and reassurance from staff, building their parenting confidence, helping with their child’s development and, ultimately, making a difference to their family. These themes were echoed by TinyStart staff, who felt assured by the quality of the programme, as an expert-developed, evidence-based intervention. A key implication of the evaluation is the importance of the services in supporting families of premature babies and providing reassurance to parents. There is also a recognised need by parents to understand their child’s development in the early years, for help with their child’s progress and for assistance with school readiness skills. Outputs from the evaluation… The launch of the TinyStart Evaluation Report took place on 28 September 2021 with an online event chaired by Prof Patricia Leahy-Warren, Chair of the Maternity, Families and Primary Care Research Group at Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery at University College Cork. The launch event included:
A panel discussion, facilitated by Prof Leahy-Warren, also took place. Panel members included Prof Victoria Simms, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Research Director in the School of Psychology at Ulster University, Dr Elizabeth Bannon, who has extensive experience in maternity services, Mrs Alison McNulty, CEO of TinyLife, and Dr Pauline McClenaghan, Executive Director of the Lifestart Foundation. The panel discussed the importance of supporting and educating parents on their premature baby’s early development and how a holistic approach can be used to positive effect. |
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Links/URLs to external pages |
The TinyStart Evaluation Report can be accessed here. Watch The Cordner Family talk about what The TinyStart Project meant to them and their family here. |
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Other relevant information |
The Evaluation Team would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to TinyLife and the Lifestart Foundation, for their support and cooperation throughout the TinyStart Evaluation, and all the families, Lifestart personnel and TinyLife personnel who facilitated and/or participated in the evaluation. Check back here in Spring 2022 for an update on outputs. |