Conference Objectives
The Southern Alberta Child & Youth Health Network and the Central and Northern Network for Child Health are co-hosting a conference on Family Centred Care. Together these networks are working to advance family centred practices across health regions and child serving sectors throughout the province. This includes engaging families in research, policy development and planning for services, as well as in decisions regarding their own treatment needs.
The purpose of the conference is to bring parents, professionals, policy makers and researchers together to develop a common understanding of family centred care and how it can be adapted within a variety of settings. This common understanding will contribute to more consistent and collaborative approaches to care, ultimately improving the experience and outcomes for children and youth. This goal is aligned with interest in health regions to adopt a more family centred approach, as well as with the family centred focus of the new Family Support for Children with Disabilities Act.
Who should attend?
Providers from all child serving sectors (health, mental health, children’s services, education, addictions etc.)
Primary health professionals including psychiatrists, family physicians, clinical leaders, clinicians (social workers, psychologists, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, occupational therapists)
Consumers, families and caregivers.
What is Family Centred Care?
A collaborative partnership between families and providers that is based on mutual respect , trust, honesty, and open communication. Families will be involved in all aspects of the planning, delivery, and evaluation of services. Professionals will support, teach and partner with families through their experience.
Conference Themes
Listening to the Voices: Children, Youth and Families
This theme will focus on the importance of inviting and understanding the perspectives of children, youth and families as they negotiate service systems (e.g. health, education, social services, etc.) What are their experiences, needs, and challenges? How is practice strengthened by listening to their voices?
Strong Families: Empowered Families
This theme will focus on the importance of recognizing, understanding, and building family resilience and capacity. What strategies can service providers develop to better support and strengthen families? How can we work with families to address their information, psychosocial, and health needs?
Responding to Family Diversity
This theme will address the importance of culturally competent practice. How can professionals develop programs that appreciate child and family diversity? How can we partner with children, families and communities in the development of programs and services that better meet the needs of minority groups?
Partnerships and Working Alliances
This theme will explore the importance of true collaborative relationships between children, families and professionals. How can we include children (where appropriate) and families as partners in decision making at all levels of service delivery, policy development and service planning? What are the advantages of building working alliances for children, for families and for service providers?
Meeting the Transition Challenge
This theme will explore factors which influence child and family adaptation to a variety of transitions (e.g. between service sectors, between developmental stages). How can service providers support families as they encounter changes in children’s developmental needs, health needs, resource needs, and service provision? How can we work collaboratively to streamline services across disciplines and sectors?
Implementing Family Centred Care: Successes and Challenges
This theme will showcase successes in Family Centre Care. Stories of success at the individual, service unit, or strategic level will be presented. What are the key components of successful programs? What are the challenges of implementing Family Centred Care?