The last step before the final quiz is about developing networks with others who have completed INFANT training, and opportunities to share ideas and find support.
Connecting with other health professionals who are working in the same area can encourage problem solving, generate new ideas to recruit and engage participants, and reduce duplication of resources such as promotional brochures or evaluation surveys.
In 2022, we commenced an online INFANT “Community of Practice” for trained INFANT facilitators, to complement the INFANT facilitator’s forum on our website. The online CoP events are hosted by the INFANT team and can be virtually attended by all trained INFANT facilitators. The first CoP focused on engaging priority groups who are experiencing personal or social barriers that inhibit their participation in INFANT groups. A summary of the CoP sessions can be found under ‘forums’ in the facilitator’s section of the INFANT website. You can also find about about the next CoP on our website and in the INFANT e-newsletters.
- If you have any questions about the CoP, post them in the Comments section below or contact the team at E: infant-study@deakin.edu.au
Your task
Watch the video from the INFANT team’s Dr Penny Love to find out more about our Community of Practice and how you can learn from other INFANT facilitators and improve the program in your community.
Submit a comment about what you’re most looking forward to, or specific topics or issues that you’d like to discuss in the Community of Practice. These could include:
- applying the principles of effective facilitation and behaviour change to your own INFANT sessions
- how others have implemented the program
- what they did to embed it into routine practice
- overcoming challenges like organisational support, maintaining participation and funding.
Read the comments from others and replies from the INFANT team. Once you’re ready, select the ‘mark complete’ button then select ‘next lesson’ for the next step.
Happy to learn from others’ experiences
Great idea; happy to be involved in the future.
Sharing of experiences is a great way for us to find ways to improve our own practice.
Great to share information about implementation ideas.
Being able to collaborate different strategies amongst similar LGA’s both size and demographically will sure help with implementation and retention of families. Sounds great!
I am supporting team members to undertake training and increase the number of staff I have trained and familiar with INFANT. I am interested to continue to consolidate my knowledge and understanding of the program to be able to best support them.
sounds good
Great idea to share experiences and see what other LGA’s have tried and works well, or also what doesn’t work well! Each LGA will have its own unique community needs that can make implementation of INFANT challenging, but shared knowledge and experience can only be beneficial to help with problem solving.
Similar to many other comments already made – these CoPs allow us all to get together, network and share ideas that we can then take back and tailor to our communities.
Support for one another to trial different approaches is beneficial
Being informed of what works or doesn’t work is always of great value.
Always nice to see what others are doing and if we can adapt ideas to suit out LGA’s
We have interacted with other Shires to discuss how they advertise and retain families.
Collaboration always promotes new ideas and methods to try.
An neighboring LGA implements the program so we may discuss some collaboration.
Fantastic idea!
Any chance for collaboration would be fantastic. I would love to hear other’s ideas and strategies they use to effectively implement the program.
Collaboration sounds exciting as we all learn from each other which ultimately benefit families
Sounds like an interesting concept and achievable
Great idea!
Great ideas here.
Always Valuable to share experiences and Knowledge
I look forward to attending the next CoP
Great idea
Really great idea!
Sounds like a great idea and interested in other ways of delivering the service
It would be very interesting how other councils are facilitating Infant. I would like to learn from others and adapt to my own work
All very interesting comments
I would be interested to hear how other LGA’s run their programs and how it’s received by families.
I am looking forward to attending the next CoP. I’d like to know whether other community health services are implementing INFANT in partnership with their MCHNs and how they have funded this.
I attended the CoP, and found it extremely beneficial, hearing how others are going, challenges and successes was great.
I’d love to hear how other LGAs run their programs and how it’s received by families.
Interesting ideas.
It would be interesting to get new ideas on implementation of Infant from other councils.
Would love to hear how other councils are doing this!
Sounds good.
I believe I am on this community of practice.
Great idea
I love the idea of a community of practice sharing thoughts, experiences, challenges.
I am keen to hear what times others are holding sessions eg weekdays/ evenings weekends and the success of retention. I also want to find out if many are holding the sessions online and seeing better retention as a result.
I am interested in how other areas have embedded the program into their schedule of groups and how successful they have been with retention to the later sessions.