Working and Learning across Canada with The BRIGHT Coaching team!

Over the past year I have had the privilege of working and learning with the BRIGHT Coaching team embedded in the CHILD-BRIGHT Network.

I was a postdoctoral researcher with the University of Manitoba, collaboratively working with researchers and family partners within the University of Manitoba, Dalhousie University, McGill University, and the University of British Columbia. My one year with the expansive team flew by as I was involved in a lot of different projects, mostly centred on BRIGHT Coaching. BRIGHT Coaching is a 1:1 virtual coaching program for caregivers of preschool children with suspected developmental delay(s) who are waiting for services (1).

Programs like these are crucial for families, as it is consistent across Canada that families can experience lengthy wait times for assessment and intervention services for their child with developmental concerns (2).  Families are faced with navigating various siloed services to access the care their child needs, (3) which can be a complex and exhausting experience. Appropriate system navigation and subsequent care/services can impact child functioning and long-term outcomes (4). The BRIGHT-Coaching program aims to resolve these gaps by providing support and education at a critical time point, while families are on waitlists for receiving services.

BRIGHT Coaching was created to address this gap. An important element of this 12-topic program is that it was developed in partnership with caregivers. Caregivers were involved as members of the research team from the beginning. They participated in choosing the topics, content, and delivery methods that were used in BRIGHT Coaching, and remained involved throughout the study, including taking part in data analysis and interpretation. When I first started in my role I supported the development of a manuscript for the qualitative findings of the BRIGHT Coaching study. The team in place had already conducted analyses to establish the key components of the program itself.  I conducted additional thematic analyses to further understand the experiences of parents who participated in the program. Overall, participants who completed the program described benefits that included knowledge gains and personal support, endorsing BRIGHT Coaching as a beneficial and holistic program. Families emphasized the importance of connecting with their coach. This aligns with the existing gap that families face while on waitlists, where they are isolated without support. I had the opportunity to present the findings from this work in October at the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) meeting in Quebec City, and a manuscript has just been submitted for publication!

A big part of my time as a postdoctoral program was to explore the implementation of BRIGHT Coaching, and how it may be rolled out across the four provinces that were involved (i.e., Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia). With a team of fantastic trainees and parent partners, we identified the need to conduct a scoping review to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing programs in real world context (i.e., outside of a research institution) focused on child development (similar to BRIGHT Coaching). This information will be helpful for the implementation of BRIGHT Coaching and other programs that are in development to support families during their child’s early years.

Additionally, I have the pleasure of co-facilitating focus groups to generate reflection about the implementation of BRIGHT Coaching within the organizations of those who attended. The focus groups included various individuals including community partners, family members researchers, health professionals, organizational managers, and policy makers.  We gained insights related to the acceptability/feasibility/appropriateness of the program, and explored potential barriers and facilitators to implementation.

During my time working on these projects, I gained a wide variety of experiences and connected with some amazing people. I am so thankful for the opportunities! Altogether, I am taking away a better understanding of how true it is that working WITH families to develop family programs is critical, and the need to recognize differences across provincial healthcare systems when implementing a program Canada-wide!

• References

  1.    Majnemer A, O’Donnell M, Ogourtsova T, et al. BRIGHT Coaching: A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness of a Developmental Coach System to Empower Families of Children With Emerging Developmental Delay. Front. Pediatr (Pediatric Neurology). 06 Aug (Vol 7). 2019.

  2.    Majnemer A, Shevell MI, Rosenbaum P, Abrahamowicz M. Early rehabilitation service utilization patterns in young children with developmental delays. Child Care Health Dev. 2002 Jan;28(1):29–37.

  3.    Brewer A. “We were on our own”: Mothers’ experiences navigating the fragmented system of professional care for autism. Soc Sci Med. 2018 Oct 1;215:61–8.

  4.    Resch JA, Mireles G, Benz MR, Grenwelge C, Peterson R, Zhang D. Giving parents a voice: A qualitative study of the challenges experienced by parents of children with disabilities. Rehabil Psychol. 2010;55(2):139–50.

About the Author

Dr. Samantha Noyek was a CHILD-BRIGHT Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Manitoba in the Department of Pediatrics and Child. She conducted research focused on the cross-Canada implementation of the BRIGHT Coaching program, which aims to support families of pre-school aged children with suspected developmental delay, as they wait to receive services and supports. Over the past six years Samantha has studied and conducted research focused on child and family health and well-being in diverse fields across multiple institutions and provinces. She recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Calgary in the Department of Psychology exploring pain and mental health in diverse children and families. She completed an Honors Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Western University, a Master of Science in Global Health at McMaster University, and a Doctorate in Rehabilitation Science at Queen’s University. Samantha’s research interests include applying creative qualitative methods to amplify the voices of persons who have often been overlooked in research and healthcare systems.