GO3688 – Supporting Parent Mental Health Literacy

Overview

The purpose of this grant opportunity is to fund the design, development and delivery of regular mental health literacy focused messages for parents, commencing at the birth of their baby. Research at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne confirms that the mental health literacy of Australian parents is low; only a third being confident that they could identify the signs of social or emotional problems in their children, and less than half were confident that they would know where to seek help if their child experienced a mental health issue. In line with the priority child and youth mental health initiatives, the objective of this grant opportunity is to provide Australian parents with reliable information from the Raising Children Network  (RCN). RCN receives over 1.3 million visitors per month and provides information on a range of health, learning, development and behavioural issues through its digital platform, targeting families of children 0-18 years old and practitioners working with families and parents, with an emphasis on early intervention and prevention. The intended outcome of the grant is to improve the mental health literacy of Australian parents, giving them the confidence to identify the signs of social or emotional problems in their children and know where to seek help if their child experienced a mental health issue.