Services The Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Promotion Network Survey

The Best Start Resource Centre established the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Promotion Network (MNCHP) in 2001. Today, the Network has over 2,000 members, including practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. The objectives of the Network are to provide an online forum for the exchange of information, development of strategies, to provide a mechanism for sharing information on maternal, newborn and child health promotion and to promote networking among members. The MNCHP Network is primarily an English-language network, although posts in French appear and are welcome.

The MNCHP Network includes:

A regular electronic bulletin with current news and initiatives, recent research results, and upcoming events related to maternal, newborn and child health issues
A listserv for the exchange of current information and ideas on maternal, newborn and child health issues.

An evaluation of the MNCHP Network was conducted in the early Spring, 2006 to:

Assess the effectiveness of the MNCHP Network in enabling health professionals to share and exchange current information and strategies related to maternal, newborn and child health promotion (Is the MNCHP Network meeting its objectives? What are its strengths and where are there challenges?)
Identify ways of increasing the effectiveness of the Network (Are there alternative formats and/or features of the listserv and the Bulletin that might better meet the needs of MNCHP members?)

The survey was open for three weeks and received 166 responses, approximately 20% of the Network members, a representative sample.

Following are a few key findings from the survey.

Demographics

Overall MNCHP Network membership

MNCHP Network - Listserv

MNCHP Network - Bulletin

Next Steps

Best Start will consider short-term and long-term ideas as we work to strengthen the MNCHP Network. Here are a few short-term steps that will be taken immediately.

The Listserv

Current members need to be made more aware of and comfortable using the features of the Network. Best Start will develop and provide guidelines for:

General Net-etiquette (using clear subject lines, addressing copyright issues, use of attachments, duplication of messages, etc.)
Features of the listserv (how to manage your subscription, set vacation stops, search archives, etc.).

The Bulletin

The Bulletin received favourable responses. To strengthen the Bulletin, Best Start will:

Ensure content in the Bulletin covers the range of issues related to maternal, newborn and child health and provide a balance of items in each area
Produce occasional Special Bulletins with singular focus on various topics identified by Network members (including breastfeeding, reproductive health, childhood obesity, etc.).