None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study seeks to examine the efficacy of a home visitation programme (Early Start) as a mechanism to address issues relating to child rearing, parenting and family functioning amongst families with young children who are at risk for experiencing high levels of stress and difficulties in family functioning.
Interventions
Visitation programme designed to assist families with young children who are at risk for experiencing high levels of stress and difficulties in family functioning. Intensive family support is provided by trained Family Support Workers, all of whom have nursing, social work or similar qualifications. Family support may be provided for up to 5 years. The ESFT is a randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of the Early Start programme as a mechanism for bringing about positive c
Visitation programme designed to assist families with young children who are at risk for experiencing high levels of stress and difficulties in family functioning. Intensive family support is provided by trained Family Support Workers, all of whom have nursing, social work or similar qualifications. Family support may be provided for up to 5 years. The ESFT is a randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of the Early Start programme as a mechanism for bringing about positive change in areas relating to child rearing, parenting and family functioning. In this trial, a series of 443 children/families has been randomly allocated to receive either the intervention (Early Start, N=220) or no intervention (controls, N=223). All families will have access to the existing mix of social and family services currently available in the community. The ESFT will thus assess the value of Early Start as an adjunct to the existing mix of community services. Families were enrolled into the trial over a 19 month period from January 2000 to July 2001. Assessments have/will be conducted at baseline (enrolment), 6 months, 1 year, annual intervals up to 6 years, and at 9 years post enrolment. Follow-up assessments will utilise information from multiple sources including: parental interview; teacher report; psychometric testing of children; medical and other official record data.
Sponsors
Christchurch Health and Development Study
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participant families were recruited using a population based screening procedure. In this procedure, Plunket community nurses in the Christchurch (New Zealand) urban region screened all new clients using an 11 point screening measure based on the measure used in the Hawaii Healthy Start Program. This screening measure covered a series of areas of parent and family functioning including: age of parents; social support; planning of pregnancy; parental substance use; family financial situation; and family violence. Plunket Nurses were asked to refer any family where two or more risk factors were present. In addition, Plunket Nurses were asked to refer any family in which there were serious concerns about the family's capacity to care for the child. Plunket nurses are community nurses who visit families within 3 months of the birth of a child to provide health and parenting support. The service is free, and within Christchurch, Plunket nurses see approximately 95% of families giving birth to a child. All referrals were on the basis of signed parental consent.
Exclusion criteria
No exclusion criteria
Outcome results
None listed