Be involved in new research to support and strengthen families living in regional and rural communities

Family life with young children can be rewarding and fun, providing some of the most meaningful times in one’s life. But family life is not without stress. Many families experience everyday stress related to family life, work demands, worries about money, relationship difficulties and lack of support from family and friends.

Families living in regional or rural areas can also experience some unique challenges and stressful life events such as natural disasters. This can include bushfires, severe storms, cyclones, floods and drought. Some families never experience these events, but they live with the threat of them. For example, they prepare for a bushfire every summer. Stressful life circumstances can have an impact on parents’ health and wellbeing and on family relationships.

About the Study

We are inviting families with children between 0-12 years living in country communities to participate in a project about different ways to support families in the face of stress.

We want to test different ways of supporting families in regional and rural Victoria.  We would like to compare two forms of support:

  • Family Foundations, an 8-session program to promote parent wellbeing, parenting partnerships and communication. All parents/caregivers/parenting partners in the family participate in sessions delivered by a health professional online.

  • Family Life Check In, a brief 30-minute telephone call with a health professional to discuss family wellbeing and relationships, and identify any supports needed.

We want to work out which of these types of support is the best way to support families. To be eligible to take part, at least two parents, caregivers, or parenting partners from each family must agree to participate in the project.

Half of the families within the project will receive Family Foundations, and half will receive Family Life Check In. The type of support families receive will be decided by chance, similar to tossing a coin. You have an equal chance of being in either group (Family Foundations; Family Life Check In). This is called randomisation. We will compare the experiences of families in each group to work out which is the best type of support for families.

We are hoping that this project will help improve the supports available for families living in regional and rural communities.

Please click on the animation below to find out what participation in this project will involve.

Next Steps

If you are interested in taking part, please click on this link to see if you may be eligible to participate and complete the expression of interest.