<em>Bibi Study: A continuous quality improvement project to improve breastfeeding rates for Aboriginal babies</em> — The Association Specialists
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  3. Bibi Study: A continuous quality improvement project to improve breastfeeding rates for Aboriginal babies

Bibi Study: A continuous quality improvement project to improve breastfeeding rates for Aboriginal babies (23836)

Derek C Swe 1 , Natalie A Strobel 1 , Dan McAullay 1 , Aboriginal Health Team 2
  1. Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
  2. Child and Adolescent Community Health, Perth, WA, Australia

Background: Despite well-established long-term benefits of breastfeeding in the first six months of life, Australia has been falling short of breastfeeding goals, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) babies living in Western Australia. The current study involved a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process to help improve breastfeeding rates for Aboriginal infants.

Methods: Together with the Aboriginal Health Team (AHT; Community Health-Child and Adolescent Health Service), we delivered a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle which was aimed at improving breastfeeding health promotion materials and messages for mothers attending child health checks. Twenty-seven staff surveys and 24 mother surveys were completed.

Results: Staff identified inconsistent informational resource use, with 5 out of 6 resources being provided less than 50% of the time, ranging from 0% (n=0) to 45% (n=9). Additionally, 70% (n=14) of staff were also interested in receiving training on providing breastfeeding support. Some mothers stated that AHT staff influenced their thinking about breastfeeding (38%, n=9) and that they did not receive any support or resources in hospital (25%, n=6). The CQI round involved standardising the provision of resources to mothers by matching resources with messaging. Staff completed 43 surveys with mothers regarding the process and found that some information that mothers (19%, n=8) wanted were not covered by the available resources. Suggested improvements included creating a new resource with common breastfeeding problems or having all information in one resource or app to streamline information access.

Conclusion: Misalignment between available resources and information that mothers wanted was identified. Staff collaboratively developed potential ways to streamline breastfeeding support and are working on implementation strategies. The AHT experienced several key learnings including how to complete a PDSA cycle, understanding mothers’ breastfeeding experiences, and the importance of having external support to complete the CQI process given barriers such as capacity, time, and staffing.