Abstract
Objective: To identify services supporting the well-being of infants and their families in an area ofSouth Brisbane, Australia, highlight problems of accessing these services and recommend strategies to make them more readily available.
Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with staff from 18 service providers offering antenatal services, or programmes primarily focused on children under the age of 2 years and/or their families. The interview aimed to identify the precise nature of the services offered, problems encountered in providing those services, perceived gaps in services and potential strategies for improvement.
Results: Services were diverse, provided by a range of different professionals, in varying locations (home, community, hospital) and with funding from various sources.The major findings were:(i) the fragmentation of services,lack of communication between them, and lack of continuity in services from one stage of family formation to another; (ii) the shortage of services working with the parents and infant together; and (iii) the difficulty ofproviding services for some at-risk populations.
Conclusions: Recommendations included: (i) maintaining a range of different services networked through a centralized resource/referral centre; (ii) expandingjoint mother–infant services and providing training for such services; and (iii) supporting outreach services for difficult to engage populations.