Co-producing parenting practice: Learning how to do child and family health nursing differently

Abstract

Child and family health (CFH) nurses are increasingly required to examine the way in which they work with parents, in order to achieve more effective parenting outcomes and more sustainable health services. New approaches to working successfully with parents require acknowledgement that parents are competent, knowledgeable, resourceful and uniquely experienced with their child/children. This calls for an approach to practice that enables ongoing parental learning and capability development, in contrast to more traditional practices. This article discusses the implications of these new approaches with reference to the idea of co-production, a concept that sits at the heart of recent initiatives in public sector and health service reform. Co-production extends previous thinking about the nature and scope of parent participation, locating parents as equal partners and producers alongside health professionals.