Healthy Beginnings for Hunter New England Kids (HB4HNEKids) is an innovative digital program introduced to support children and families during the first 2,000 days of life – a critical period for lifelong health and development.
Across Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD), around 50,000 children are in their first 2,000 days of life. While Child and Family Health services play an important role in supporting families, participation often declines over time, reducing opportunities for ongoing preventative care. Over five years, HB4HNEKids was developed through collaboration between policy, practice, research and community partners. The program delivers age-and-stage tailored text messages directly to parents, including preventative health information, developmental and anticipatory guidance, health check and immunisation reminders, and referral pathways.
In a pilot study, HB4HNEKids improved child fruit and vegetable intake, parental wellbeing, and showed positive trends in breastfeeding and introduction to solids. It has also led to high levels of parental acceptability at 90% and retention at 93%. As part of its expansion, HB4HNEKids achieved near-universal reach through automatic system enrolment, with 98.7% of eligible families enrolled.
The program shows how digital technology can support large-scale delivery of preventative healthcare for young children and families.
The 2026 Keeping People Healthy Award is proudly sponsored by The University of Sydney
