Northern Health and UBC are bringing a text-message based prenatal education program, and they are looking for parents who are 21 or younger to help them design it.
We’re looking for young parents and parents-to-be in Northern BC (age 21 and younger) to support the Parenting Young Project. You’ll help guide our project looking at the needs of young parents during pregnancy and in the first year after birth.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/6Le60lqXpN— Northern Health (@Northern_Health) March 15, 2023
It is based off a Smart Parent program – SmartMom – that is already available to all parents whose children are one year old or younger that sends three messages a week with useful information and a link to find out more.
“The idea is to give accurate, curated, Canadian and BC relevant information to people to help them make healthy choices,” said Patricia Janssen, a professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health.
“We have done a lot of evaluation, most of our users that are better educated are in their early 30s or late 20s,” she said, which is why they are designing a version of the program specifically geared towards young parents. “In order to do that, we want their input.”
They are currently hiring young parents to be a part of an advisory committee and work together towards finding out what the demographic’s learning priorities are, as well as the easiest method of contacting them – whether that is still through a text, or through a social media platform.
Janssen added 14,000 people have used the SmartMom program so far.
If you are interested in the program or applying for one of the roles they are looking for, the information can be found in this tweet.
If you’re interested in being a part of this important project, email [email protected] or text 604-313-8243**. Deadline to apply is Friday, March 31, 2023**.
We can’t wait to learn from you!*Funding for this project is provided by the University of British Columbia
4/4— Northern Health (@Northern_Health) March 15, 2023