A Computer-based Intervention to Augment Home Visitation Services: The E-Parenting Project

The current protocol aims to examine the effects of a computer-based intervention used in conjunction with existing Healthy Families America (HFA) home visitation programs on the challenges related to participant enrollment, retention, and motivation as well as parent and child outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Child Maltreatment
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Computer Assisted Healthy Families America Home Visitation; Behavioral: Healthy Families America Home Visitation

Detailed Description

The present study aims to determine whether a computer-based intervention can provide augmentation of home visiting services to decrease the risk of child maltreatment. The computer-based software includes modules on motivation, Cognitive Retraining, and elements of the ecobehavioral SafeCare approach. A total of 420 mother-infant dyads from four Healthy Families America (HFA) sites will be randomly assigned to either treatment as usual, software-supplemented home visitation, or community control conditions. For families in the software-supplemented condition, home visitors will present the software to parents via a Tablet PC during regular home visits. All parents will be followed-up at 6, 12, and 18 months by independent and blinded research assistants. Parents are evaluated for maltreatment and maltreatment risks as measured by self-report, home visitor report, blinded independent observers, and statewide CPS data. If validated, the proposed intervention can provide augmentation of home visiting services with unprecedented ease of dissemination, at negligible additional cost, and with limitless potential for further development.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 413
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Indiana
    • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
      • Indiana University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Pregnant or post-partum mothers who are eligible (i.e., score 25 or greater on the Kempe Family Stress Checklist and are not involved in CPS open case investigation at the time of HFA participation) and willing to participate in the HFA program are eligible to participate in the current study, with the following restrictions:

1. Mothers must be 18 years or older and able to complete the baseline assessment within 4 weeks of delivery.
2. Mothers have not completed any prior post-partum treatment plan.
3. Participants must have functional cognitive abilities.
4. Premature infants have to be released from hospital care within 6 weeks of birth.
5. Participants must be able to communicate in English.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Computer Assisted home visitation; Home visitation with computer modules added	Behavioral: Computer Assisted Healthy Families America Home Visitation; Computer modules added to home visitation protocol for Healthy Families America
Experimental: Home Visitation TAU; Home Visitation Treatment as Usual	Behavioral: Healthy Families America Home Visitation; Healthy Families America Home Visitation Treatment as Usual
No Intervention: Community Referral

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Child maltreatment reports	18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Steven Ondersma, Ph.D., Wayne State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2011
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): February 25, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 15, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2013
• Last Verified: May 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 092506B3F