Pandemic Parenting Playbook: Webinar Series to Support Parents during COVID

ABSTRACT

The COVID pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of stress in parents and families (Ipsos Annual Mental Health Index Survey, 2020). Methods: To support parents through COVID, a team of parent leaders from PLEO (Parents' Lifeline of Eastern Ontario) and an interdisciplinary team of mental health (MH) professionals jointly created and co-hosted a two-session webinar series. Using principles of family engagement (Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, Oct 2019), the first half of each webinar was a powerpoint didactic on practical strategies for adaptive parenting during COVID. The second half was an opportunity for parents to ask the interdisciplinary panel experts (including peer support parents) questions about strengthening child and youth MH. At the conclusion of each session, the webinar recording, PDFs of slides and a transcript of the Questions and Answers were posted online for free, permanent access. Results: Participants (n=380) completed online surveys after the webinars. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with satisfaction 90-95% for content, topics and panel discussion. Top strengths 1) session content;2) suggestions and recommendations;3) session panel. Top suggestions for improvement 1) more time for questions and answers;2) having the powerpoint slides available in advance;3) more in-depth topics. Conclusions: Parents and professionals co-developed and co-facilitated a two-session webinar to support 380 parents across Ontario. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The co-development/co-facilitation model is a promising practice. Further steps will explore how to fund and run future sessions, and expand the range of topics.