Investigating feasibility and fidelity of the Parenting Young Children program in Sweden

This study explored feasibility and fidelity of an education program for parents with intellectual disability. The Australian Parenting Young Children intervention was translated and adapted for support workers in the Swedish social services.

Fidelity was examined using implementation diaries tracking frequency of implementation of program activities and teaching approaches ((over 14 months, completed by 27 support workers from 15 municipalities). Eighteen of these support workers and their managers (n = 12) completed questionnaires examining feasibility using Roger's concepts of program compatibility and complexity.

Results showed that implementation of Parenting Young Children was feasible, with overall positive attitudes to Evidence Based Practice, good program compatibility, low perceived program complexity, and high satisfaction with implementation support. The fidelity measures suggest problems in how the program is used by some support workers: parents received less than the recommended number of sessions and activities such as observation of parents and follow up, were infrequently used by support workers.

The findings raise questions about how program support and education should be provided. Difficulties in defining fidelity within the flexibility of the Parenting Young Children program are also discussed.