AiMH UK influences practice and Policy: ‘Putting Learning Into Practice’
On the 10th October 2023, World Mental Health Day I attended an online Lunchtime Skills Box Session organised by AiMH UK which provided an introduction to the M-ADBB (Baby Alarm Distress Tool). As a new member this was my first skills box session.
As a leader in Public Health Nursing in Northern Ireland, I was not familiar with M-ADBB and during the skills box I was intrigued by the use of the tool and the positive outcomes being shared. I immediately could see how this could enhance health visiting practice and support the assessment of the mother baby relationships across all core contacts with parents. I registered for the AiMH UK 3 hour event on 23rd April 2024 to find out more and to explore further how the tool was being utilised and what the research findings were showing.
The aim of the workshop, on the modified version of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (the M-ADBB) was to provide professionals with a tool for the rapid screening of babies in psychological distress. The workshop was led by Alexandra Deprez PHD, who is a child psychologist who worked with Professor Antoine Guedeney who designed the Alarm Distress Baby Scale and the session was interactive, engaging and informative.
As a result of participating in these 2 events with AiMH UK, I have been able to bring the discussion back to regional colleagues here in Northern Ireland, where we have discussed the potential for this tool to become part of our regional child health promotion programme. In an effort to find out more about the research and to make connections, I attended the regional IHV Evidence Based Practice Conference in Manchester in July 2024 where Hilda Beauchamp and colleagues presented the findings from the ADBB feasibility and acceptability study. During this conference I got the opportunity to express my interest in the study and discuss the potential for Northern Ireland to be considered as one of the pilot sites.
I am pleased to report that our Health and Social Care Trust has now been successful in our expression of interest as a participating site for the next stage of the study, which will see the expansion of the ADBB training and incorporate several of the research recommendations from the first phase of the study, including how acceptable the scale is to parents, the impact on practice and the outcomes of referrals made by health visitors.
I would encourage practitioners, service managers and leaders in the field of infant mental health and child health to join the AiMH UK where they can access resources, training, networking events and conferences and have the opportunity to learn new things, speak to experts and share all the fantastic learning that is happening across our 4 nations.
Susan Gault MBE, BSC (Hons), RGN, RHV
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