Above: ANFPP team connects with clients via online meetings
Creative telehealth plans, including Zoom for online home visits, check-in calls, texts and email, and non-contact delivery of care packs and gifts has been a major initiative by the ANFPP Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) North to deal with COVID-19.
The sense of trust that has developed between ANFPP and its clients has been a major factor in successfully overcoming the challenges of a rapid adoption of telehealth to accommodate the need for physical distancing. Our clients trusted us when we informed them that we needed to change the way we delivered our program; they trusted us when we advised them to stay home; and they trusted us when we started offering home visits, allowing us back into their homes again.
The journey taken by one particular client illustrates our telehealth success. We have been working with her for almost two years now and throughout this time she has overcome many challenges through pregnancy and very soon after the birth of her beautiful baby. Despite how tough it was and how many unknowns there were, she remained engaged with both the Family Partnership Worker (FPW) and the Nurse Home Visitor (NHV) as well as with the clinic and allied health team.
Her son was 18 months old when COVID-19 hit and it was she who supported us as we navigated teams and Zoom, at times even showing us how to work it! Through patience and small steps, we soon had regular home visits up and running online and we enjoyed changing our backdrops and finding new and creative ways to keep her toddler entertained. We wanted to ensure we kept up the pattern of visits, both supporting and walking alongside mum in her journey as a first time parent and with bub, delivering content and role modelling as well as interacting and playing.
In addition, we managed to complete data collection, Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQs) and still share content through screen sharing, texts and email. Care packs, Mother’s Day gifts and Activity packs were shared through non-contact delivery.
We also offered regular check-in calls and texts in between our home visit video calls which were well received and often initiated by the client. We received regular photos and videos of bub and updates on how mum was going with work and study.
Whilst all of us understood why we had to stay home and stay safe as we navigated this pandemic, both the ANFPP team and the client also felt deeply about missing the face-to-face in-home visits.
ANFPP North looks forward to celebrating with this client in the New Year as we say goodbye and Happy 2nd Birthday!
