Our next Research Networking event for iHV members is on 16 May, 09:30-11:30

Pippa Atkinson, SCPHN Lecturer from the University of Central Lancashire, will present her research titled: ‘A narrative inquiry approach to understand how women from different socioeconomic backgrounds experience the revised UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative standards’. Her research used narrative research methodology to understand the meaning women gave to the care they had received about feeding and caring for their baby.

In her presentation Pippa will give an overview of the study, identifying how multi-level system factors were used to identify the women’s infant feeding experiences and create case-studies, which have enabled the interactions between the different level factors to be explored.

During this session you can also connect with other health visitors who are interested/ active in research, keep up-to-date with national developments, share good practice and collaborate with other health visitor researchers.

 

How to book for iHV members

Our booking process has changed, you no longer require your membership number to book. Go to our booking page and login with your iHV member email address and password. You must have ‘validated’ your membership in order for this to work.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to select your ticket, submit your details and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members. On the day of the event, you will be automatically emailed the link to join the webinar.

Calling all members – bookings are now open for our May iHV Insights webinar – ‘Scary Thoughts and Secret Fears: supporting parents with intrusive thoughts in the perinatal period’.

This webinar is on Thursday 23 May 2024 (join from 3:15pm to allow a prompt start) 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

This is open to all members.

Intrusive thoughts can be an extremely distressing feature of perinatal mental illnesses, including obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and anxiety. However, as many as 80% of parents with no perinatal mental health problems can also experience these thoughts. Despite this, they are shrouded in stigma. Intrusive thoughts can trigger intense feelings of guilt and shame and are often felt to be unacceptable. Therefore, it can be difficult for parents to share these thoughts with professionals and receive the support that they need. This Insights event will explore how health visitors can raise awareness of and identify intrusive thoughts, consider risk, and most importantly, offer appropriate and timely support to families experiencing intrusive thoughts.

Speakers include:

• Dr Fiona Challacombe, Clinical Psychologist and NIHR Clinical Lecturer
• Lived Experience Speaker TBC
• Rhiannon Jenkins, Health Visitor: will share a case study to highlight how best to identify, assess risk, and support families with intrusive thoughts in practice

Click here to book your place

How does this event align to the 2022 NMC Standards of Proficiency for SCPHN Health Visiting?

Attendance at this event and engagement with the iHV reflection template will support you with demonstrating CPD activities that align to the 2022 NMC Standards for Proficiency for SCPHN Health Visiting, in particular:

• C.HV4 play a significant role in promoting mental health for parents, families, infants and children during the perinatal period and in the assessment and early identification of perinatal mental ill health.
• C.HV5 provide care and support to infants, children, parents and families where appropriate and facilitate access to specialist mental health services according to the level of need.
• C.HV6 promote infant mental health and early identification of infant distress, providing support to families to enable them to prioritise and respond to their infant’s needs.

How to book for iHV members

Our booking process has changed, you no longer require your membership number to book. Go to our booking page and login with your iHV member email address and password. You must have ‘validated’ your membership in order for this to work.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to select your ticket, submit your details and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members. On the day of the event, you will be automatically emailed the link to join the webinar.

Join us at our Practice Education Networking (PEN) event on 22 October 2024, 09.30-11.30am. 

This session specifically links to NMC Standards of proficiency for SCPHN spheres B and D core standards and HV specific standard D.HV1:

• B.10 critically appraise the evidence that informs new innovations in public health programmes, including genomics, and evaluate early success measures and impact on population health outcomes
• D.2 recognise and accommodate any future developments in the application of genomics into their SCPHN practice to support prevention and early intervention in the health of the population across the life course
• D.HV1 demonstrate specialist knowledge and understanding of infant and child anatomy, physiology, genetics, genomics and development when undertaking programmed health assessment and development reviews

Check back soon for details on how to book.

The next Practice Education Networking (PEN) event is on 4 June 2024, 09.30-11.30am. 

The NMC (2022) state that demonstrating a commitment to develop as a SCPHN practitioner, includes engagement in ongoing education and professional development opportunities necessary for revalidation. During the session we will hear from NMC experts and consider how to make best use of learning opportunities and workplace CPD arrangements for the benefit of professional revalidation.

This session specifically links to NMC Standards of proficiency for SCPHN spheres E and F, core standard:

• E.5 lead and support a culture of learning and continuous professional development for colleagues, and with interdisciplinary and interagency teams
• F.6 compassionately lead and support a culture of critical reflection and continuous professional development that promotes team and interdisciplinary learning

Click here to book your place

How to book for iHV members

Our booking process has changed, you no longer require your membership number to book. Go to our booking page and login with your iHV member email address and password. You must have ‘validated’ your membership in order for this to work.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to select your ticket, submit your details and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members. On the day of the event, you will be automatically emailed the link to join the webinar.

 

We are delighted to announce that we will be back in Manchester at King’s House Conference Centre on 3 July 2024 for this year’s iHV Evidence-based Practice Conference ‘A Healthier Future’.

This year’s EBP Conference will focus on addressing health inequalities, a topic that has never been more poignant, with more babies and children experiencing poorer outcomes and living in poverty than ever before. How can we ensure a healthier future, where all babies and children can thrive? How can we use the best available evidence and research to reduce health inequalities and strengthen health visiting practice?

Our conference will provide a platform for local, national, and international experts and speakers to come together and share excellence in health visiting practice, innovation and the latest research to address health inequalities.

The presentations and workshops will reflect the breadth of health visiting practice, within a “whole system” public health approach, with the aim to equip health visiting practitioners with new knowledge and skills to address key challenges in prevention and early intervention work with babies, children, and families.

We very much look forward to welcoming you to this popular event.

With thanks to generous sponsorship from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), we have been able to keep our ticket prices as low as possible and extend our subsidised tickets to ensure that as many practitioners are able to join our EBP conference as possible. Due to high demand, please book early, as in-person tickets are limited and selling fast! In addition, groups bookings of 5 or more will receive a 15% discount off the total order when booked at the same time.

 

Calling all members – book your place now for our April iHV Insights webinar – ‘Not just pink, blue and yellow: assessing ethnically diverse babies’.

This webinar is on Thursday 25 April 2024 (join from 3:15pm to allow a prompt start) 3:30pm to 4:30 pm.

This is open to all members.

Join us for a compelling webinar highlighting the pivotal role of health visitors in cultivating an inclusive and anti-racist healthcare environment. It’s widely acknowledged that ethnic disparities profoundly affect maternal and infant care, with alarming statistics revealing higher mortality rates among Black, Asian, and minority ethnic mothers and babies compared to their White counterparts. Ensuring every baby has the best chance of survival and a fulfilling life necessitates a thorough understanding of how current care practices contribute to these disparities.

Remarkably, there has been minimal exploration into whether existing guidelines for assessing newborns’ health are suitable for Black, Asian, or minority ethnic babies. This includes crucial assessments such as interpreting the Apgar score’s component examining skin colour, as well as evaluating conditions like jaundice and cyanosis. Despite being based on the experiences of White European babies, these assessments are universally applied by healthcare professionals, including midwives, doctors, health visitors, and nurses, irrespective of infants’ skin tones. Health visitors most often encounter neonatal jaundice in the post-natal period. Neonatal jaundice being the most common reason for readmission of neonates to hospital.

Our webinar brings together insights gleaned from a comprehensive review commissioned by The NHS Race and Health Observatory, comprising systematic analysis, policy examination, and qualitative research involving healthcare professionals and parents from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Our panel of experts, drawing from both professional expertise and lived experiences, will delve into the complex interplay of race, ethnicity, and skin tone in these critical neonatal assessments. There will be opportunity for discussion on how these insights can inform health visiting practices, research and policy changes, toward fostering a more equitable healthcare landscape. Join us as we embark on a journey toward creating inclusive and anti-racist healthcare environments for all infants.

Speakers

• Ngozi Edi-Osagie – Consultant Neonatologist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust: “Implications for clinical practice”
• Arnie Puntis – Research and Policy Manager, NHS Race and Health Observatory: “Role of the Race and Health Observatory in Maternal and Neonatal Ethnic Health Inequalities”
• Professor Gina Awoko Higginbottom – Professor Emerita Ethnicity and Community Health: “Summary of RHO report on neonatal assessment and practice in Black, Asian and minority ethnic newborns”.
• Matt Wynter and Lauren Clarke – parents with lived experience

Click here to book your place

How does this event align to the 2022 NMC Standards of Proficiency for SCPHN Health Visiting?

Attendance at this event and engagement with the iHV reflection template will support you with demonstrating CPD activities that align to the 2022 NMC Standards for Proficiency for SCPHN Health Visiting, in particular;

• Sphere of Influence D: Population health: enabling, supporting and improving health outcomes of people across the life course;
• 10 – use culturally appropriate, evidence-based approaches to assess, support and monitor the health and wellbeing of people, and appropriately refer to specialist services if necessary.
• HV3 – assess for early signs of atypical patterns of development, or significant anomalies that may result in disability or emotional, physical or developmental health needs or risks, and deliver evidence-based anticipatory guidance or targeted intervention tailored to individual and family circumstances and needs

How to book for iHV members

Our booking process has changed, you no longer require your membership number to book. Go to our booking page and login with your iHV member email address and password. You must have ‘validated’ your membership in order for this to work.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to select your ticket, submit your details and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members. On the day of the event, you will be automatically emailed the link to join the webinar.

 

We are proud to announce that our iHV SEND conference “A Different Journey: The Best Life from the Start”, on 14 March 2024, has been sponsored by NHS England (NHSE). Our event will take place at Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage (which is easily accessible via national rail networks and road links).

Providing better joined-up support to improve the outcomes for children with SEND is a national priority and requires a multi-agency approach. Our SEND conference aims to equip health visitors and early years practitioners with new knowledge and skills to support babies and young children with SEND, and their families – with a focus on early identification of need and joined up support.

We have a fantastic line-up of high-profile national speakers who will be presenting on the current national SEND priorities and ambitions to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for babies and young children with SEND. Our conference programme will encompass evidence-based practice and the latest research on a wide range of SEND topics from experts in their field including:

• Overview of national picture and SEND policy
• Improving seamless support through Integrated Care Systems and pathways
• Reaching underserved communities with SEND
• Enhancing communication
• Understanding Cerebral Palsy
• Supporting a child with a cleft palate
• Understanding Down’s Syndrome
• Neurodiversity in the early years
• Safeguarding is everyone’s business
• Health visiting and SEND – opportunities to improve practice

Our conference will also provide an excellent opportunity to network with multi-agency professionals and leading SEND experts from across the UK, as well as charities and exhibitors to support your work in this area.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to enhance your health visiting practice and make a difference to babies and children with SEND.

We are delighted to confirm that this conference is accredited, and participants will receive 5hrs CPD relevant to NMC professional standards for SCPHN.

This conference is delivered by the Institute of Health Visiting in partnership with Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust.