Every 9 minutes, an Australian child is born at risk of developmental challenges.
In addition to this, 1 in 5 Australian children do not have the developmental skills to thrive when they enter school. Access to timely support is hindered by the complex, poorly co-ordinated, and inefficient nature of the Australian child and family service system, which is characterised by fragmentation, duplication, and gaps.
Moreover, children from priority populations (low income, regional/rural residence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)) can face multiple barriers to early identification.
They are often identified late, missing critical opportunities for early intervention. These children may also be at higher risk for poor self-regulation, an important determinant of future adverse outcomes such as substance use, mental health concerns, and physical health problems.
The aim of the STARS study is to systematically improve screening and support child developmental, parental mental health and psychosocial needs in families with children aged 6 months to 3 years.
This will be achieved by implementing and evaluating the impact and cost-effectiveness of a co-designed, technologically innovative, and translational program. The WA site will implement and evaluate a digital service to assess the effectiveness of a digital screening and tiered care model.
The STARS for Kids program comprises:
- Impact evaluation phase: To evaluate the impact of the STARS for Kids tiered care model in improving child developmental, parental mental health, and family psychosocial outcomes.
- Implementation evaluation phase: To ascertain parents/carers’ and relevant stakeholders’ (e.g., service providers, policymakers) experiences with the STARS for Kids program including perceived feasibility, satisfaction, and benefits as well as barriers including suggestions to improve the implementation of the program.
- Economic analysis and Dynamic Simulation modelling phase: To evaluate the cost-and benefits of the STARS for Kids program, including both ‘within-trial’ impacts and modelled for longer-term outcomes.
The study's primary objective is that children of families receiving service via the STARS for Kids tiered care model will have a 30% - 60% increase in completion of their developmental checks compared to those allocated to the control group.
Investigators:
- Professor Desiree Silva at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Dr Jackie Davis at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Dr Nina D'Vaz at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Dr Amy Finlay Jones at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Dr Jenny Downs at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Sini Borgen at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Bec Young at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Jo Cole at The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Professor Valsamma Eapen at the University of New South Wales
- Lauren Vaughn in the New South Wales Government
- Professor Susan Woolfenden at the University of Sydney
- Associate Professor Jane Kohlhoff at the University of New South Wales