The Program
What is Bamboo?
The Bamboo Perinatal Support Program pairs first-time mothers in Australia with trained volunteers for a period of 6-9 months during the perinatal transition period. The Bamboo platform offers new parents the opportunity to nominate a social support person (e.g., partner or friend) or be paired with a volunteer via a customised pair-matching algorithm. The program facilitates research-informed support training for both nominated and appointed volunteers and provides a digital resource centre to facilitate interactions on topics such as parenting and self-care strategies.
The Bamboo Pilot Trial
1. What is the Bamboo pilot trial?

If you agree to be involved in the study, you will be invited to complete surveys at the following timepoints:

Perinatal Mothers

Three time points: a) after registering for the study, b) c) 3-months postpartum, and d) 6-months postpartum. The surveys will include questions about your background and your perceptions and experience of the Bamboo Perinatal Support Program. Each survey should not take more than 15 minutes to complete and can be completed online. Over the duration of the pilot trial, you are anticipated to spend no more than a total of 45-minutes completing surveys. 

Support Persons

Four time points: a) after registering for the study, b) following watching the 30-minute training video embedded in the Bamboo platform, and when the mother you are supporting is at, c) 3-months postpartum, and d) 6-months postpartum. The surveys will include questions about your background and your perceptions and experience of the Bamboo Perinatal Support Program. Each survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete and can be completed online. Over the duration of the pilot trial, you are anticipated to spend no more than a total of 40-minutes completing surveys. 

Both perinatal mothers and support persons will also be invited to participate in an individual exit interview at the end of the study, which will focus on your experience in the program, as well as any recommendations for improvement. The interview is not compulsory and will be scheduled at a time convenient to you and should not take more than 30 minutes to complete. The interview will be conducted via MS Teams and audio recorded with your consent. 

Please note that the survey and interview components of the research are separate, such that you could choose to complete the survey component of the research but decline the invitation to complete the interview.

2. Who can sign up for the program?

Support persons:

- aged 18+, an Australian resident, be at least 1-year postpartum, have no criminal history nor severe mental health disorder (psychosis, substance use dependence, prescribed anti-psychotic medication).

OR

- aged 18+ and have been nominated by a first-time mother in the Bamboo program as their desired support person, have no criminal history nor severe mental health disorder (psychosis, substance use dependence, prescribed anti-psychotic medication).

New parents:

- aged 18+, an Australian resident, between the start of your third trimester of pregnancy and 1 month postpartum

- and reside in regional, rural or remote Northern Queensland

- and have no current self-reported severe mental health disorder (psychosis, substance use dependence, prescribed anti-psychotic medication) and no current overt indicators of family violence (self-reported intervention order; court case for family violence).

3. How do you define a first-time mother?
Regardless of your gender identity, if you self-identify as a first-time mother, you are eligible to join the pilot trial (in addition to the criteria listed in the question above).
4. Does it cost money to join the program?
No, there are no fees involved in joining the program, and upon joining, you will be granted lifelong access to the resources (articles, meditations, podcast series) situated in the Bamboo platform.
5. Do support persons and new parents get paid to join the program?
Both support persons and new parents who complete all surveys throughout the study will be compensated with a $50 digital gift card. You will be compensated with an additional $25 digital gift card if you take part in the interview component.
6. How do support persons get trained for their role?
Support persons will be provided with evidence-based training videos (totaling 30-minutes) outlining the provision of high quality social support to new parents. Complementary worksheets will be provided to support their training. Support persons will not be required to undertake a quiz following their training.
10. Am I still able to contact my support person once the program has ended?
Absolutely. While we initially encourage you to interact using the Bamboo platform, we encourage you to share your email address, phone number, or social networking profile details once connections are established, and interact as you would with a friend.
11. I am a support person and have received a nomination or pairing request from a new parent. How long do I have to decide?
The request will expire within 7 days. If you are a community support person (i.e., you are awaiting pairing with a new parent through the pair-matching algorithm), you will be placed back in the bank of supporters available to new parents.
Safety Tips
1. Never send money or share your financial information
XXXXXX
2. Keep your account details safe

Select a strong password: XXXXX

Set up multi-factor authentication

Log out of your account after using a shared computer

3. Use the Bamboo platform to converse with your paired support person or new parent

While we hope that pairs will form enduring friendships, we encourage you to initially converse over the Bamboo platform until you feel comfortable enough to share your phone number, email address or other contact details.

If you decide to meet up in-person with your paired supporter or new parent, first do so in a public location.

6. Report suspicious behaviour on and off the Bamboo platform

This includes, but is not limited to:

- Fraudulent profiles

- Underage users

- Spam or advertising

- Bullying, coercive or otherwise harmful or inappropriate behaviour

- Requests for money

Community Guidelines
1. Commercial and promotional activity
We do not allow unsolicited commercial or promotional activity on the Bamboo platform. Please report accounts you suspect are in violation of these terms.
2. Controlled goods and substances
We do not tolerate use of the Bamboo platform to buy, sell, supply, distribute or facilitate the distribution of illegal substances and/or the misuse of controlled goods and substances.
3. Bamboo has zero tolerance for:

Illegal activity of any kind, including but not limited to:

- Behaviours that intend to, or illicit harm to others

- Discrimination against anyone based on, but not limited to, their ethnicity, sexual identity or orientation, religious beliefs, XXX

4. One account per person
XXXX
Profile Guidelines
Enforcement Policy