Development of a framework for the collaborative adaptation of service models for child and family health in diverse settings (CASCADES)

Abstract

The impact of health service access disparities has significant implications for society. The importance of addressing health and social inequities is never more critical than in the early years of a child's life. Despite advances in healthcare implementation, there is a lack of an evidence-based framework to specifically guide the adaptation of child and family health (CFH) service models for different community contexts. This paper describes the development of a framework for the adaptation of community-based CFH service models. Drawing on the findings of an integrative review and Delphi study, Participatory Action Research was used to test the framework, resulting in the Framework for Collaborative Adaptation of Service Models for Child and Family Health in Diverse Settings (CASCADES). The Framework uses the analogy of a waterfall to represent the iterative process of collecting information to inform each step. The framework supports a collaborative co-design approach to build a comprehensive understanding of the target community to inform the adaptation and evaluation of evidence-based interventions appropriate to the local context. The ultimate aim is to enable the delivery of services that are contextually relevant for local communities and provide greater access to effective, accessible services to support children and their families.

Keywords: Child health services; community-based participatory research; health inequities; implementation science; rural health.

Figure 1.

Framework development process.

Figure 2.

Overlay of draft framework tiers with PAR cycle (Study 3).

Figure 3.

CASCADES framework illustration (Illustration credit: R Spooner).