Factors of success, barriers, and the role of frontline workers in Indigenous maternal-child health programs: a scoping review

Abstract

Background

Despite considerable investment in maternal-child programs in Canada, there has been little positive impact on the health of Indigenous mothers and their children. The reasons for this are unclear and there is a need to identify how such programs can be successfully implemented. Community input is essential for successful programs; however, it is unclear what the contributions of frontline workers have been in the health program process, i.e., program development, delivery, and evaluation. Based on these identified gaps, this scoping review aimed to: (1) identify factors of success and barriers to successful Indigenous maternal-child community health programs for mothers and their children aged 0–6 years; and (2) explore how frontline workers are included in the program process.

Methods

This scoping review was completed using the Arksey and O’Malley framework, informed by Levac et al. Four data bases (Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus), grey literature, and reference lists were searched for relevant materials from 1990–2019. Data was extracted from included articles and analysed using descriptive statistics, thematic analysis with the Braun and Clarke framework, and a Principal Component Analysis.

Results

Forty-five peer-reviewed and grey articles were included in the review. Factors of program success included: relationship building; cultural inclusion; knowledge transmission styles; community collaboration; client-centred approaches; Indigenous staff; and operational considerations. Barriers included: impacts of colonization; power structure and governance; client and community barriers to program access; physical and geographical challenges; lack of staff; and operational deficits. Frontline workers were found to have a role in program delivery ( n = 45) and development ( n = 25). Few ( n = 6) had a role in program evaluation.

Conclusion

Although a better understanding of the frontline worker role in maternal-child health programs was obtained from the review, in a large proportion of literature the authors could not determine if the role went beyond program delivery. In addition, no direct input from frontline workers and their perspectives on program success or barriers were identified, suggesting areas to explore in future research. This review's findings have been applied to inform a community-based participatory research project and may also help improve the development, delivery, and evaluation of Indigenous maternal-child health programs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12939-024-02118-2.