Hutton, JS; Gupta, R; Gruber, R; Berndsen, J; DeWitt, T; Ollberding, NJ; Van Ginkel, JB; Ammerman, RT. Randomized Trial of a Children's Book Versus Brochures for Safe Sleep Knowledge and Adherence in a High-Risk Population. Academic Pediatrics. 2017; 17(8):879-886.
Sleep-related infant deaths have remained unacceptably high for the past 20 years, disproportionately affecting families of low socioeconomic status (SES). This study was the first to explore the efficacy of printed educational materials for safe sleep education and adherence with American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations. We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving low-SES mothers (n = 282) at-risk for adverse outcomes enrolled in the Every Child Succeeds home visiting program. Randomly assigned home visits performed safe sleep teaching and assessments during 3 visits - third trimester, 1-week old, and 2-months old - exclusively utilizing a children's book specially designed by the principal investigator (Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug) or an assortment of brochures. Safe sleep knowledge increased across all time points with no significant group difference, though adherence with AAP recommendations including exclusive crib use and avoiding bed-sharing was more than 2-fold higher for the book group, home visitors reported greater dialogue via the book, and mothers in the book group reported more book-sharing with their baby. We attribute our findings to enhanced parent-provider dialogue, simple reading level, emotional engagement, and empowering messaging, suggesting potential of well-crafted children’s books for pediatric anticipatory guidance.
Bowers, K; Folger, AT; Zhang, N; Sa, T; Ehrhardt, J; Meinzen-Derr, J; Goyal, NK; Van Ginkel, JB; Ammerman, RT. Participation in Home Visitation is Associated with Higher Utilization of Early Intervention. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2018; 22(4):494-500.
This study evaluated the association between participation in Every Child Succeeds (ECS) and utilization of early intervention services. Researchers matched mother-child pairs participating in ECS with a comparison group of mother-child pairs who were eligible, but not participating in ECS sampled from birth records in the state of Ohio. Among over 3,500 ECS and non-ECS comparison participants, there was no difference in the time to early intervention service utilization; however, a higher percentage of ECS participants accessed these services. This work is significant as it demonstrates that participating in ECS home visiting services may serve as an important resource for improving access to early intervention.
Jones, DE; Tang, M; Folger, A; Ammerman, RT; Hossain, MM; Short, J; Van Ginkel, JB. Neighborhood Effects on PND Symptom Severity for Women Enrolled in a Home Visiting Program. Community Mental Health Journal. 2018; 54(4):420-428.
Mothers in home visiting programs often exhibit clinically significant levels of depression. Characteristics of the communities can increase risk for depression, although there has been no examination of this among mothers in home visiting. This study examined the relationship between residential mobility and social disadvantage and self-reported depression in mothers assessed three months postpartum. Findings indicated that residential stability associates with less severe depression, but there was no relationship between depression and social disadvantage. The recommendation is for prevention and treatment efforts to particularly target those mothers in home visiting who live in communities with high levels of mobility.