Table 1
WBC Program Elements and WBC Role.
| WBC PROGRAM ELEMENTS | WBC ROLE |
|---|---|
| Appointment format | Up to six support appointments for families |
| Care navigation | Developing wellbeing care plans with goals and service links |
| Social prescription | Co-designing nonclinical social prescriptions (e.g., financial counselling, playgroups) |
| Family connection | Monthly Community Connect sessions for casual caregiver-practitioner engagement and service awareness |
Table 2
Instruments Used in Intake and Exit Surveys.
| VARIABLES | INSTRUMENTS | INTAKE SURVEY | EXIT SURVEY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caregiver characteristics | Caregiver age, gender, country of birth, primary languages spoken at home, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, refugee status, educational, and household composition. | X | – |
| Social isolation | Four items from an index of social isolation [22, 23]: unmarried/not cohabiting; infrequent contact with family or friends, and no participation in groups. Items were rated yes/no, with higher scores indicating greater isolation. | X | – |
| Loneliness | The three-item short form of the Revised UCLA loneliness scale [24]: Items were rated on a 3-point scale (1 = hardly, 3 = often), with higher scores indicated greater loneliness. | X | X |
| Health | Six items from a 10-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Health [25] assessed caregivers’ general, physical, mental, and social health, and quality of life. Items were rated on a 5-point scale (1 = poor, 5 = excellent), with higher scores indicating better health. | X | X |
| Confidence to self-manage health problems | Single item: ‘How confident are you that you can control and manage most of your health problems?’ [26]. Rating based on a 10-point scale (1 = not at all, 10 = very). | X | X |
| Knowledge of local services | Study-designed, single item: ‘Do you feel like you have a good knowledge of services in the local area to support your child and family’s health and wellbeing?’ Rating based on a 5-point scale (1 = poor, 5 = excellent). | X | X |
| Connection to the community | Study-designed, single item: ‘Have you experienced a greater connectedness in your community since taking part in the WBC program?’ with participants rating ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘somewhat’. | - | X |
| Caregiver enablement | Six items from a modified Parent Enablement Index [27, 28] assessed caregivers’ ability to cope with life, understand and support their children, maintain health, feel confident about their health, and help themselves. Rating based on a 3-point scale (0 = same or less or not applicable, 1 = not confident at all, 2 = much better). The total score ranges from 0 to 12. Scores above 4 indicate greater enablement as a result of the service [29]. | – | X |
| Feedback on the WBC program | Six study-designed question: two on goal achievement and program recommendation (yes/no/other) and four on caregivers’ experiences of being listened to, respected, and supported, rated on a 5-point scale (1 = always, 5 = never). | – | X |
Table 3
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Caregivers (n = 29).
| PARTICIPANT CHARACTERISTICS | n (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| CAREGIVERS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE WBC PROGRAM BUT COMPLETING INTERVIEWS (n = 18) | CAREGIVERS PARTICIPATING IN THE WBC PROGRAM AND COMPLETING SURVEYS (n = 9) | CAREGIVERS PARTICIPATING IN THE WBC PROGRAM AND COMPLETING INTERVIEWS (n = 2) | |
| Age M (SD, Range) | 38 (8.01, 25–59) | 38.78 (7.82, 30–53) | 32 (2.12, 30–33) |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 13 (72.2) | 8 (88.9) | 2 (100) |
| Country of birth | |||
| Australia | 9 (50) | 5 (55.6) | 1 (50) |
| Asian countries | 7 (38.9) | 2 (22.2) | 0 |
| African countries | 2 (11.1) | 2 (22.2) | 1 (50) |
| Primary language spoken | |||
| English | 9 (50) | 6 (66.7) | 2 (100) |
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Islanders | |||
| Yes | 1 (11.1) | 0 | 0 |
| Highest level of schooling | |||
| Under Year 12 (final year of schooling) | 0 | 5 (55.5) | 1 (50) |
| Year 12 or equivalent | 5 (27.8) | 2 (22.2) | 1 (50) |
| Trade or other certificate-level qualification | 3 (16.7) | 1 (11.1) | 0 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 5 (27.8) | 0 | 0 |
| Postgraduate qualification | 5 (27.8) | 0 | 0 |
| Missing | 0 | 1 (11.1) | 0 |
| Number of children in the household | |||
| 1 | 4 (22.2) | 2 (22.2) | 0 |
| 2 | 7 (38.9) | 5 (55.6) | 2 (100) |
| 3 | 6 (33.3) | 1 (11.1) | 0 |
| 4 or more | 1 (5.6) | 1 (11.1) | 0 |
| Social isolation index | |||
| Unmarried/not cohabitating | N/A | 6 (66.7) | N/A |
| Less than monthly contact with other family members | N/A | 1 (11.1) | N/A |
| Less than monthly contact with friends | N/A | 2 (22.2) | N/A |
| No participation in organisations (e.g., social clubs, residents’ groups) | N/A | 5 (55.6) | N/A |
Table 4
Demographics of Practitioners (n = 21).
| PRACTITIONER CHARACTERISTICS | n(%) |
|---|---|
| Age | |
| 18–34 years | 4 (19.1) |
| 35–44 years | 9 (42.8) |
| 45–54 years | 4 (19.0) |
| 55–64 years | 4 (19.1) |
| Gender | |
| Female | 18 (85.7) |
| Role | |
| Paediatrician/paediatric fellow | 3 (14.3) |
| General practitioner | 2 (9.5) |
| Nurse | 6 (28.6) |
| Allied health (speech pathologist, dietician) | 2 (9.5) |
| Social worker | 2 (9.5) |
| Financial counsellor | 1 (4.8) |
| Lawyer | 5 (23.8) |
| Number of years in role | |
| < 2 years | 2 (9.5) |
| 3–5 years | 6 (28.6) |
| 6–10 years | 6 (28.6) |
| >10 years | 7 (33.3) |
Table 5
Referral Characteristics (n = 56).
| REFERRAL CHARACTERISTICS | n(%) |
|---|---|
| Referrals received by the wellbeing coordinator | 56 (100) |
| Appropriate referrals | 48 (86) |
| Referral received from | |
| Internal (in the Hub) | 29 (52) |
| External (outside the Hub) | 10 (18) |
| Self-referral | 17 (30) |
| Referrer roles | |
| Self-referral | 17 (30) |
| Paediatrician | 14 (25) |
| Paediatric fellow | 10 (18) |
| Speech Pathologist | 5 (9) |
| Universal maternal and child health nurse | 4 (7) |
| Dietician | 3 (5) |
| Other | 3 (6) |
| Reasons for referrala | |
| Socially isolated | 13 (23) |
| New to area | 16 (29) |
| Overwhelmed with service navigation | 50 (89) |
| NDIS support | 35 (63) |
| New diagnosis | 13 (23) |
| Waiting for services | 25 (45) |
| Contact attempts to engage families (Range: 0 –11) | |
| 0 | 33 (59) |
| 1–3 | 13 (23) |
| 4–6 | 8 (14) |
| ≥10 | 2 (4) |
| Families accepted and booked in to see WBC | 40 (71) |
| Families attended the initial appointment (actively engaged) | 36 (64) |
| Appointments per family attending initial appointments (Range: 1–22) | |
| 1–6 appointments | 26 (72) |
| 7–12 appointments | 7 (19) |
| 13–18 appointments | 1 (3) |
| ≥19 appointments | 2 (6) |
| Wellbeing plans developed | 33 (92) |
| Referrals generated in wellbeing plans | |
| Internal referrals | 26 (41) |
| External referrals | 38 (59) |
[i] aCould be multiple reasons for referral.
Table 6
Changes in Caregiver Outcomes from Intake and Exit Surveys (n = 9).
| VARIABLES (RANGE OF SCORES) | INTAKE SURVEY M (SD) /N (%)* | EXIT SURVEY M (SD) /N (%)* |
|---|---|---|
| Loneliness (3–9) | 5.13 (1.96) | 5.00 (1.77) |
| Global health (1–5) | ||
| General health | 2.89 (1.27) | 3.22 (1.20) |
| Physical health | 3.22 (1.39) | 3.22 (1.09) |
| Quality of life | 3.00 (1.23) | 3.33 (1.12) |
| Mental health | 2.67 (1.00) | 3.33 (1.23) |
| Social activities and relationships | 2.22 (.83) | 3.67 (.87) |
| Usual activities and roles | 3.78 (.67) | 3.56 (1.13) |
| Confidence in controlling and managing health (1–10) | 6.13 (2.75) | 8.11 (2.09) |
| Knowledge of services to support child and family’s health and wellbeing (1–5) | 2.78 (1.20) | 3.00 (1.00) |
| Caregiver enablement (0–12) | N/A | 6.63 (3.85) |
| Greater connectedness in the community since taking part in the WBC program* | ||
| Yes | N/A | 5 (55.6) |
| No | N/A | 2 (22.2) |
| Somewhat | N/A | 2 (22.2) |
| Achieved the goals set out in the wellbeing plan* | ||
| Yes | N/A | 6 (66.7) |
| No | N/A | 1 (11.1) |
| Other | N/A | 2 (22.2) |
| Feedback on the wellbeing coordinator | ||
| Listened carefully (1–5) | N/A | 1.00 (0) |
| Show respect (1–5) | N/A | 1.00 (0) |
| Spend enough time with families (1–5) | N/A | 1.00 (0) |
| Recommend the WBC Program to others* | ||
| Yes | N/A | 9 (100) |