Health & Nutrition

In many countries around the world, the early childhood workforce often experiences poor recognition for their work which translates to lower wages and qualifications, fewer opportunities for career development and inadequate professional development, in comparison with other professionals working to support older children and adults.

Recently, the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative conducted key informant interviews in 15 countries to understand country priorities and challenges, as well as promising approaches to supporting the early childhood workforce. The recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers as well as working conditions were among the major challenges surfaced in those conversations.

The webinar will address the following questions pertaining to the theme:

• What working conditions do members of the early childhood workforce face?
• To what extent are challenging working conditions a barrier in recruiting and retaining the early childhood workforce?
• To what extent do working conditions influence the quality of service delivery?
• What efforts have been taken in different countries to improve the working conditions of various categories of early childhood workers?

- How do countries design and implement such efforts in the face of resource constraints?

- What factors can support the introduction of policies to improve working conditions?

- What challenges are encountered in introducing these policies?

This discussion aims to cover different country contexts, and will refer to various categories of professionals and paraprofessionals from different sectors.

This webinar is intended for policymakers and program implementers interested in learning more about the working conditions that members of the early childhood workforce face as well as approaches that have been used to improve them.

Access the recording via the YouTube link below. You may also resources from the webinar, such as reccomended readings from the panel and the webinar slides, here.

Together, UNICEF ECARO and ISSA have developed a set of Resource Modules for Home Visitors: Supporting Families for Nurturing Care, intended to better equip home visitors with the latest knowledge and tools to support and engage with the families of young children.

Drawing upon the most recent scientific evidence, the modules have been developed through a consultative process involving international and regional experts, national trainers and home visiting professionals. They can be delivered through various training methods and adapted to train other service providers.

These modules empower home visitors to take a strengths-based approach that promotes nurturing relationships between the caregiver and child as well as contributing to risk reduction by supporting and referring families to other services when necessary. 

The modules are accompanied by several supporting tools. They provide ample opportunity for the learner to be actively engaged in reflection and deliver guidance on the knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices required for home visitors in their “new and enriched role”. These tools can support home visitors to work in partnership with families, to support parents and caregivers, and empower them to provide the best possible environment for their young children.

Definition of skilled health personnel providing care during childbirth is a joint statement by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the International Pediatric Association (IPA).

A background document, Defining competent maternal and newborn health professionals, outlines eight categories of maternal and newborn health (MNH) competencies that professionals must process as an integrated team, while focusing in particular on the competencies of the MNH professional providing intrapartum care.

This document and the new joint statement also link the competent MNH professional with the enabling environment comprising the six building blocks of the health system – service delivery; health workforce; information; medical products, vaccines and technologies; financing; and leadership and governance – which are essential for effective, timely, continuous, quality care.

Below you may also find the web appendix, Mapping of WHO competencies for the maternal and newborn health (MNH) professional based on previously published international standards.

Scope of Practice for Midwives in Australia from the Australian College of Midwives defines the roles, functions and responsibilities that:

• A registered midwife is educated and competent to carry out;
• meet legislative requirements, professional standards, and local or organizational policy;
• are accepted as contemporary midwifery practice by the profession;
• meet women’s and infant’s health needs and enhance their health outcomes;
• aim to provide evidence-informed care; and
• are collaborative through consultation and partnership with the woman and other health care professionals.

The document is underpinned by the International Confederation of Midwives International Definition of a Midwife.

The National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (NIECDP) (2015) is an important step in South Africa’s shift from a health system focused on curative, disease-based services to one based on prevention and health promotion. The NIECDP identifies a comprehensive vision of early childhood development (ECD) services to be delivered by 2030, seeking to strengthen and integrate these services across all government departments. While recognizing the Department of Health’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) present role in providing supportive health and nutrition services, the NIECDP envisages these CHWs playing a significant, and expanded, role in strengthening overall maternal and child developmental outcomes by providing parenting support and opportunities for early learning and stimulation through additional home visits and community-based activities for families and young children through the age of two, commonly defined as part of first 1000 days services. The evolving role of the CHW in ECD services is set against the backdrop of continued Primary Health Care Re-engineering efforts.

This study is intended to provide insight into how the Department of Health is endeavoring to implement the NIECDP, with particular focus on the role of CHW. It examines the experience of two provinces and aims to consider the implications for service delivery across the country, as well as provide recommendations to enable, prepare and support the CHW workforce to deliver on this expanded suite of early childhood services. Given that many countries are considering expanded roles of para-professionals such as CHWs, it is also hoped that this study will contribute further to the knowledge base around delivering integrated health and development services for young children across a range of contexts.

This study addresses the following primary research questions: 

• What is the status of implementation of the first 1000 days services in the NIECDP by the Department of Health? 
• What are the barriers and opportunities for the Community Health Worker to deliver the first 1000 days services outlined in the NIECDP? 
• What lessons can be drawn from their experience? 

Framework for assessing standards for practice for registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives provides a resource for persons assessing the standard of practice of nurses and/or midwives, as well as for nurses and/or midwives whose performance is undergoing assessment.

• The aim is to guide the assessment of competence against the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia standards for practice for registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives. This important measure ensures the initial and continuing competence of nurses and midwives.
• The framework comprises:
• Principles for assessing standards for practice;
• Critical issues in assessing performance; and
• Key elements in the assessment model.

In the United States, cross-sector core competencies for the prenatal through 3-year-old field are currently being broadened to encompass competencies needed for working with children 3-5 years old. The charge of this report was to: 

1. Identify core competencies needed by the P-3 workforce in Los Angeles County;
2. Develop training approaches to support development of these competencies; and
3. Create and field test strategies in selected Los Angeles communities for integrating the core competencies in professional development systems and developing strategies to sustain their use.

This report captures core competencies agreed upon by the workgroup tasked with this report, as well as recommendations regarding the prenatal through three-year-old workforce.

Proper supervision enables home visitors to form supportive relationships with families. Supervision: supporting professionals and enhancing service quality focuses on supporting the supervision of home visitors in order to guide home visitors in their work.

Through these modules, readers may: 

• review the meaning of supervision and the contribution it makes to support quality in the delivery of services and professional development of the home visitor;
• reflect on the supervisory role and related activities in supporting professional development in the work environment;
• explore the meaning of lifelong learning and professional development; and
• reflect on current supervision practices as related to home visiting and identified concrete actions and approaches that can be used to strengthen them.

This module belongs to the Supporting Families for Nurturing Care resource modules for home visitors.

Changing Systems & Practice to Improve Outcomes for Young Fathers, Their Children & Their Families recognizes that, though there is an increasing interest in supporting fathers, little attention has been paid to the importance of engaging fathers under the age of 26 – particularly young fathers who are involved in child welfare systems.

This brief makes recommendations for child welfare system policy and practice, recognizing the important role that fathers play in improving their child's outcomes. The document highlights policies and programs seeking to identify, engage and support young fathers. It also includes links to practice guides and resources aimed at supporting the implementation of these recommendations. The policy recommendations in this brief address these challenges:

• The lack of attention to the dual roles and needs of young fathers who are simultaneously navigating a transition to adulthood while learning to parent;
• The invisibility of young fathers in child welfare systems and the dearth of opportunities for them to support the well-being of their children and families;
• The lack of data on the characteristics and needs of young fathers; and
• The lack of cross-system collaboration among the education, juvenile/criminal justice, early childhood education (ECE), child support enforcement, health care, homeless services, housing and mental health systems to support young fathers and their families.

Throughout the brief, voices of young fathers are shared.