Inclusion criteria

Types of participants

The quantitative and qualitative components of this review will consider studies that include:

Families/parents (including Indigenous and non-Indigenous) with one or more children aged 0-4 years of age. Parents may be married, single or in defacto and/or same sex relationships.

Parent/Peer support workers.

Exclusion Criteria

All exclusion criteria are addressed in the relevant sections of the protocol.

Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest

Peer led parenting support programs delivered as home visiting programs include the use of volunteer or paraprofessional parents who have shared similar parenting experiences in the local community.

The quantitative component of the review will consider studies that evaluate the effectiveness of peer led home visiting parent support programs for families/parents with children 0-4 years of age. Interventions delivered as non-home visiting support or delivered with non-peer support will not be included.

The qualitative component of this review will consider studies that investigate the meaning and experiences of peer led parenting support programs for families with children 0-4 years of age.

Types of outcomes

This review will consider studies that include the following outcome measures: effective peer led home visiting parent support programs for families with children from 0-4 years of age, that have been measured as effective through quantitative and/or qualitative studies. Effectiveness can be assessed through measures such as client self-reported satisfaction with parent support, increased feelings of coping and confidence with parenting and decreased feelings of parenting stress. Quantitative tools to measure effectiveness can use methods such as surveys and questionnaires. Qualitative tools to measure effectiveness can use methods such as open-ended questions in questionnaires, focus groups and face to face or telephone individual interviews.

Types of studies

The quantitative component of the review will consider both experimental and epidemiological study designs including RCTs, non-randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental, before and after studies, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case control studies and analytical cross sectional studies for inclusion.

The quantitative component of the review will also consider descriptive epidemiological study designs including case series, individual case reports and descriptive cross-sectional studies for inclusion.

The qualitative component of the review will consider studies that focus on qualitative data including, but not limited to, designs such as phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, action research and feminist research.

In the absence of research studies, other texts such as expert opinion, discussion papers and position papers will be considered.

Search strategy

The search strategy aims to find both published and unpublished studies. A three-step search strategy will be utilized in this review. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL will be undertaken, followed by analysis of the text words contained in the title and abstract and of the index terms used to describe the article. A second search using all identified keywords and index terms will then be undertaken across all included databases. Third, the reference lists of all identified reports and articles will be searched for additional studies. Only studies published in the English language will be considered for inclusion in this review. Studies on programs that are delivered as non-peer support and non-home visiting programs will not be included, along with those identifying families with children aged zero to four years of age. Authors of primary studies will be contacted for missing information or to clarify unclear data. This review will consider studies from 2000-2014, as the year 2000 was the time from which volunteer or paraprofessional visiting began to emerge on a substantial basis in the literature. Home visiting peer support is a relatively new intervention, with most previous studies being professional home visiting support.

The databases to be searched include:

MEDLINE, CINAHL, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, AIATSIS - Indigenous studies bibliography(Informit), ATSIhealth - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health bibliography (Informit), Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

The search for unpublished studies will include:

Grey Literature Network Service, Australian National Library, WorldCat, Conference Papers Index through ProQuest

Initial keywords to be used will be:

Paraprofessional parent support; Peer led parent support; Peer led home visiting parent support; Home visiting parent support

Assessment of methodological quality

Quantitative papers selected for retrieval will be assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological validity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) (Appendix I). Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer.

Qualitative papers selected for retrieval will be assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological validity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI) (Appendix I). Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer.

Textual papers selected for retrieval will be assessed by two independent reviewers for authenticity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute Narrative, Opinion and Text Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-NOTARI) (Appendix I). Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer.

Data collection

Quantitative data will be extracted from papers included in the review using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-MAStARI (Appendix 1). The data extracted will include specific details about the interventions, populations, study methods and outcomes of significance to the review question and specific objectives.

Qualitative data will be extracted from papers included in the review using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-QARI (Appendix 1). The data extracted will include specific details about the interventions, populations, study methods and outcomes of significance to the review question and specific objectives.

Textual data will be extracted from papers included in the review using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-NOTARI (Appendix 1). The data extracted will include specific details about the interventions, populations, study methods and outcomes of significance to the review question and specific objectives.

Data synthesis

Quantitative papers will, where possible, be pooled in statistical meta-analysis using JBI-MAStARI. All results will be subject to double data entry. Effect sizes expressed as odds ratios (for categorical data) and weighted mean differences (for continuous data) and their 95% confidence intervals will be calculated for analysis. Heterogeneity will be assessed statistically using the standard Chi-square and also explored using subgroup analyses based on the different quantitative study designs included in this review. Where statistical pooling is not possible, the findings will be presented in narrative form including tables and figures to aid in data presentation where appropriate.

Qualitative research findings will, where possible, be pooled using JBI-QARI. This will involve the aggregation or synthesis of findings to generate a set of statements that represent that aggregation, through assembling the findings rated according to their quality and categorizing these findings on the basis of similarity in meaning. These categories are then subjected to a meta-synthesis in order to produce a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings that can be used as a basis for evidence-based practice. Where textual pooling is not possible, the findings will be presented in narrative form.

Textual papers will, where possible, be pooled using JBI-NOTARI. This will involve the aggregation or synthesis of conclusions to generate a set of statements that represent that aggregation, through assembling and categorizing these conclusions on the basis of similarity in meaning. These categories are then subjected to a meta-synthesis in order to produce a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings that can be used as a basis for evidence-based practice. Where textual pooling is not possible, the conclusions will be presented in narrative form.

Conflicts of interest

There are no actual or potential conflicts of interest by Ailsa Munns, Prof. Desley Hegney or A/Prof. Roz Walker in relation to the undertaking of this systematic review and its findings.

Acknowledgements

This systematic review will be contributing to PhD studies by Ailsa Munns. Acknowledgement is made to the Center for Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, which is providing funds for one day FTE.

References