The Community-led Child Injury Prevention Partnership (CHIPP) project focused on Aboriginal families that attended Goonimoo Playgroup at the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service (WAMS) during 2020-2022.
The Community-led Child Injury Prevention Partnership (CHIPP) project focused on Aboriginal families that attended Goonimoo Playgroup at the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service (WAMS) during 2020-2022. The CHIPP project was funded by a grant from the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre and included investigators from WAMS, DEG, Kidsafe NSW, the School of Population Health, The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Wollongong as well as UNSW Yuwaya Ngarra-li researchers.
Over the 18 months of the project - which was disrupted by COVID, floods and a mice plague - the CHIPP project team developed a play-based, culturally appropriate, evidence-based program on Water Safety, Road and Pedestrian Safety and Home Safety in partnership with Goonimoo playgroup educators and families. Activities and resources used were documented in manuals for each of these topics as a resource for other Aboriginal playgroups to use in the future. Local Walgett staff at Goonimoo and WAMS were trained in swimming and water safety, correct installation of child car seats, and positive parenting.
The evaluation of the program found that the program was feasible, accessible and acceptable to the Walgett community. It also highlighted the importance of a co-design approach to collaboratively develop a program to prevent unintentional injuries among Aboriginal children.
If you are interested in finding out more about this project, please contact Amy Townsend (a.townsend@unsw.edu.au) or Rebecca Ivers (rebecca.ivers@unsw.edu.au).