About

History of INFANT

INFANT is based on more than 10 years of research led by the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University. In 2008, INFANT was delivered as a randomised research trial with 540 families across 14 Victorian local government areas.

2007

2008-2010

2012-2019

2019

2020

2007: Development of INFANT

The INFANT Program was developed and reviewed by experts including Maternal and Child Health Nurses, dietitians and health behaviour specialists.

The program was developed to promote healthy eating and physical activity behaviours that would, in turn, promote healthy weight across life. The first 1000 days of life are a critical time for establishing healthy eating and activity behaviours that can have health and economic benefits into adulthood.

INFANT was offered through existing Maternal and Child Health Nurse-led new parent groups, providing a social opportunity to support mothers and families during the first year of their child’s life.

2008-2010: Efficacy trial

The INFANT Program was first conducted as a research project by Deakin University researchers in 2008.

The initial study was a cluster randomised controlled trial within local government areas around Melbourne and involving first-time mothers from when their infants were 4 to 20 months of age.

Parents were in one of two groups – those receiving usual care and those receiving INFANT, offered as six sessions delivered over the infant’s first 18 months.

This early health promotion trial found benefits for children and parents. Read more about the benefits here.

 

2012-2019: Small-scale translation

In 2011, INFANT was funded by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to enable the program to be offered to selected local government areas. A total of 8 of 12 areas opted to run the program with strong acceptance and adoption by Maternal and Child Health Nurses and other health professionals.

Findings highlighted many examples of program integration, promoted by a range of factors including:

  • Strengthened partnerships between early years’ service providers
  • Increased awareness of and commitment to the early years as a period for obesity prevention
  • Identification of the need for healthy lifestyle services for children under 2 years of age

This small-scale translation trial provided proof of concept for implementation at scale. Insights from this research have informed modifications and improvements of program delivery at scale.

Read case studies from the sites that continue to run INFANT here.

The results of the small-scale trial can be found here.

2019: Enhancements to INFANT

In response to small-scale translation findings from providers and parents, a range of program enhancements were made to strengthen INFANT:

  • Developed low-cost online facilitator training, enabling INFANT training to be undertaken at any internet-accessible location.
  • Developed an INFANT smart-phone app and website – My Baby Now. These technologies complement the face-to-face sessions and provide ‘around the clock’, high-quality information and personalised support.
  • Reduced the face-to-face program from six to four sessions accommodating parents’ earlier return to work. The My Baby Now app delivers the content previously covered in sessions five and six.

2020: State-wide scale-up

From 2020, Victorian organisations, such as Maternal and Child Health services and community health services, will have the opportunity to be trained to deliver INFANT as part of their usual care. This is part of a 5-year Partnership Project Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Regions will receive implementation guidance to support them in embedding INFANT into routine service delivery. There is flexibility with how INFANT is embedded into services, who facilitates it, where it is held and how long it takes to set up – this will depend on your local area readiness, capacity and resources.

Uptake of INFANT is expected to be staggered across local government areas. Once organisations complete their set-up and training, they will be able to commence INFANT delivery, with an expected 1-3 local government areas commencing each quarter.

Learn how to implement INFANT in your local area here.

About the partnership grant and research

 

This project secured a 5-year Partnership Project Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (ID number: GNT1161223) to investigate and evaluate INFANT implementation at-scale throughout Victoria and nationally.

We are using the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance of INFANT when implemented at scale across Victoria.

Specifically, we will assess:

     

    Reach

    Including characteristics of parents participating in the program, program completion rates and sociodemographic predictors of completion

    Effectiveness

    Effectiveness and cost effectiveness when delivered at scale

    Adoption

    Measured as uptake by LGAs and factors influencing program

    k

    Implementation

    Including program fidelity and adaptations, barriers and facilitators

    Maintenance

    Including proportion of LGAs continuing to implement INFANT at 2 years and factors influencing sustained delivery

    Project partners 

    The INFANT Program is led by the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) at Deakin University.

    Project partners include:

    Our team

    Sarah Marshall

    Sarah Marshall

    Research Project Manager

    For more information about INFANT and how to become involved, please contact the team at infant-study@deakin.edu.au.

    INFANT is supported by a multidisciplinary, international team of partner organisations, researchers and health promotion professionals.

    Learn about all the team members here.