Community Engagement

‘Birth for Humankind’ fosters strong community engagement by working with women and babies who present with complex needs. By increasing their confidence and knowledge and supporting them to overcome language and cultural barriers in the maternal health system, Birth for Humankind improves the health and wellbeing outcomes for these groups [1].
 
The word ‘community’ within the definition of ‘community engagement’ is defined as a group brought together by either geographical location, special interest, shared circumstances or a common vision [2-4]. Birth for Humankind was established to work with the Melbourne community of women at risk during their pregnancy, birth and post-partum period. 
 
This community includes women who are

• at risk of perinatal mental health issues;
• under the age of 25 years;
• experiencing homelessness;
• newly arrived in Australia, from a refugee background or are seeking asylum;
• current or historical substance misusers;
• affected by trauma, family violence or abuse;
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; or
• lacking personal birth support [1].

 
When defining ‘engagement’ many words will present including collaboration, participation, connection and communication, but all involve some form of action or process to build relationship with the implication of benefitting the community [2-5]. Birth for Humankind does this by matching pregnant women with specifically trained doulas, providing education and informational support, ensuring language barriers are overcome, and offering continuity of emotional and physical care [6].
 
To further engage with this community, Birth for Humankind also provides education and information to the maternal health and allied service providers who support these women. This helps raise awareness of the barriers to respectful and appropriate maternity care faced by these women, and the impact this has on their health and wellbeing outcomes [1].
 
Birth for Humankind is a powerful example of community engagement, engaging with the community of birthing women in Melbourne who are experiencing additional challenges. This community engagement enables respectful, appropriate maternity care, for women to have the best birth possible and to improve the maternal and newborn health outcomes.

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References
 
1.         Birth for Humankind Annual Report FY18-19. 2019: Birth for Humankind.
2.         Community engagement - A key strategy for improving outcomes for Australian families. 2016  [cited 2020 07/03/2020]; CFCA Paper No. 39 – April 2016:[Available from: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/community-engagement/what-community-engagement.
3.         van Delden, J.J.M. and R. van der Graaf, Revised CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines for Health-Related Research Involving Humans. JAMA, 2017. 317(2): p. 25-27.
4.         Bowen, F., A. Newenham-Kahindi, and I. Herremans, When Suits Meet Roots: The Antecedents and Consequences of Community Engagement Strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 2010. 95(2): p. 297-318.
5.         Emergency risk communication training - Module B5: Community Engagement.  [cited 2020 09/03/2020]; Emergency risk communication training - Mudule B5: Community Engagement]. Available from: https://www.who.int/risk-communication/training/module-b/en/index4.html.
6.         O’Rourke, K.M., et al., An Australian doula program for socially disadvantaged women: Developing realist evaluation theories. Elsevier, 2019.

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