Military Maternity Voices
Evaluating the Lincolnshire Care Navigator Model
Military families face unique challenges around healthcare, particularly if they are pregnant or have young children. Sudden changes in family life, due to deployment and postings, mean military families can find it difficult to access quality and consistent healthcare.
Commissioned project
This project was commissioned by NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board and NHS Armed Forces Healthcare
Note: Prof Belinda Colston (Director of the Halsden Centre), in her capacity as Founding Director of the Eleanor Glanville Institute, University of Lincoln, developed and led the evaluation of the pilot project. The evaluation was completed by the Halsden Centre team in August 2024.
Introduction
The Lincolnshire Care Navigator Model was established as part of the Military Maternity Project − a two-year pilot scheme (2022−24), led by the NHS Better Births Lincolnshire, offering bespoke support for military families in Lincolnshire facing challenges around healthcare, pregnancy, and birth.
Vision & aims
In recognition of the unique challenges facing military families, the Lincolnshire Maternity & Neonatal Voices Programme (known as ‘Better Births Lincolnshire’) created a bespoke service of support for military families, including ex-military and reserve forces, living on or around the many bases in Lincolnshire. The programme aimed to enable military families to find their way through the maternity and neonatal system, including non-clinical help, to improve individual health and wellbeing.
The programme, initiated as a two-year pilot scheme, was evaluated using an adapted CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) evaluation model [1] designed, through engagement with beneficiaries and stakeholders, to identify strengths and limitations of the programme to improve its effectiveness and to plan for its future.
Methodology
Three data collection tools were designed and implemented:
Beneficiary focus groups (pre-programme) to establish the need for a Military Care Navigator.
Beneficiary survey (post-programme) to establish the impact and effectiveness of the Military Care Navigator Model.
Delivery Team interviews to establish the strategy, design and expectations of the Military Care Navigator Model.
Project Outputs
The project successfully implemented a range of initiatives and resources, including:
Employment of Military Care Navigator and Military Voice Partnership lead means that there is now a stronger engagement with the military community to listen to families and feedback to military and NHS services to address issues.
Reducing mental health inequalities, creating stronger working partnership between NHS Perinatal mental health services and NHS Armed forces. Ensuring the parents have better access to services to support their emotional well-being throughout the maternity journey.
Providing support for military line managers – raising awareness of NHS services available to support personnel and their family.
Creation of a Buddy Scheme for mothers and fathers to help reduce isolation for families deployed into the County and overseas.
Coordination and communication between military and civilian healthcare providers, guaranteeing a more streamlined and efficient experience for service personnel and their families who need to link into new health services departments whilst under medical care, due to deployment.
Evaluation Conclusions in brief
The Military Care Navigator Model was co-produced with beneficiaries and informed by their lived experience. To this end, it has been successfully designed to address the identified challenges and specific barriers associated with the Military maternity journey.
The anticipated benefits of the model have started to emerge:
Military families have the same level of care and support through their maternity journey, no matter when they joined it.
Engagement is facilitated with the Lincolnshire Health system.
Mutual understanding of information across the system − engaging both families and their GPs within the Military bases within the Lincolnshire system
Awards
The Lincolnshire Military Maternity Project has been shortlisted for a highly coveted Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award in the Military and Civilian Health Partnership category. Winners will be announced on 21 November 2024.
References
Stufflebeam, D. (2003). The CIPP model of evaluation. In T. Kellaghan, D. Stufflebeam & L. Wingate (Eds.), Springer international handbooks of education: International handbook of educational evaluation
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