Can a child and family health service improve early childhood health outcomes in an urban Aboriginal community

AIMS: To describe the engagement of a cohort of urban Aboriginal families with an Early Childhood Health Service, and to assess any association of engagement with the service with screening by the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale (EPDS), full breastfeeding rates and post-natal smoking status. METHODS: Routine electronic medical record data collected by a Child and Family Health Nurse between 2011 and 2014 was analysed retrospectively. Associations between use of the service and acceptance of EPDS, breastfeeding rates and post-natal smoking status were determined using binary and multinomial multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: There were 424 Aboriginal babies and 215 mothers included in the study. Each occasion of service increased the odds of accepting screening with the EPDS (odds ratio (OR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.03, P = 0.04) and complete breastfeeding (OR 1.11, CI 1.01-1.23, P = 0.04), but not of quitting smoking (OR 0.99, CI 0.96-1.02, P = 0.34). Despite accounting for engagement with the service, overall uptake of the EPDS remained low; of 267 offers for EPDS screening, only 115 were accepted (43%). CONCLUSION: The service was accessed in increasing numbers during the study period. Mothers who utilised the service more frequently were more likely to accept EPDS screening and exclusively breastfeed; however, acceptance of EPDS screening remained low overall. Further research is recommended to investigate the low acceptance of EPDS in this Aboriginal population and whether those results are transferable to other communities.