Improving universal health and development assessments and access to referral services for children aged 0 to 5: A Paediatric RN and Nurse Practitioner led response for 800+ children

Aim
This study piloted a universal, and sustainable Nurse led service, which provides a comprehensive health assessment and developmental screening services for children 0-5 years.

Method
This mixed methods research used a community embedded Paediatric Specialist Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurse led model of care to measure the deficits in current health access for children in community childcare centres in South Australia by (1) providing in-depth assessments of child health needs, (2) management of referrals to appropriate health care providers, (3) support for referral adherence, and (4) parental education regarding child developmental health checks.

Results
This service provides primary health care to sixteen urban and two rural sites. Over 2000 children were offered the screening, with parents of 852 providing consent for screening. Of these referral needs were identified in 42% of children. Fifteen percent of whom were identified as having some level of developmental delay.

Conclusion
This model of providing childhood screening test is feasible and acceptable to parents and children. The assessments identified significant health or developmental concerns in this population. Early identification and assistance to complete applications for timely therapy through linkage with a variety of local GP and Allied Health services, optimises the potential to limit longer term, or further health and developmental issues.