Objective: Intervention in the earliest period of parenthood can make a strong, positive impact on parenting, yet engaging parents of newborns in parenting interventions can be difficult. Technological adaptation of important interventions can improve early engagement. This study reports the initial feasibility of the Creating Connections intervention, a technology-based intervention developed to support mothers of newborns, and feasibility of evaluating the intervention through a randomized clinical trial in pediatric primary care. The intervention includes: 1) a brief tablet-based intervention delivered during a newborn well-child pediatric check-up, and 2) tailored text messages delivered thereafter to boost intervention content. Intervention content includes empirically-supported aspects of parenting behaviors known to positively influence children's social-emotional development.
Methods: Project recruitment took place in an ambulatory care pediatric clinic in a large Midwestern city. Mothers received information about infant soothing, book sharing, or both.
Results: One hundred and three parents learned about the program and 72 participated. Mothers were primarily Black/African American with incomes at or below $30,000. Only 50% of mothers that received text messages through the program completed follow-up, but these mothers gave overall positive ratings of text messages.
Conclusions: Program engagement and ratings of parents support feasibility, but retention rates need improvement. Based on barriers and successes of this investigation, lessons learned about feasibility and acceptability are discussed.
Objective: Developmental screening is a critical component of care for children with sickle cell disease (SCD), who are at elevated risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. This report describes the implementation of two related developmental screening programs implemented in different SCD specialty care settings with the purpose of describing screening protocols, outcomes, and lessons learned.
Methods: Program One reviewed medical records for 201 children with SCD screened at ages 2 and 4 years. Program Two reviewed program tracking and visit notes for 155 screenings across 67 children screened between 9 and 66 months of age. Key outcomes included characteristics of children screened, screening results, concordance between parent concerns and screening outcomes, and access to evaluation and intervention services.
Results: Each program identified a substantial number of children with developmental concerns, including 42% of screenings in Program One and 36% of unique children screened in Program Two. Program One resulted in 56% of identified children receiving follow-up developmental services and 62% receiving developmental monitoring. Program Two resulted in 58% of identified children receiving further evaluation following developmental screening, with 67-75% of children with neurodevelopmental diagnoses receiving intervention services following evaluation. While parent concerns were related to screening outcomes, screening instruments detected many children whose parents did not express developmental concerns.
Conclusions: Routine developmental screening is a feasible, acceptable, and effective method for identifying concerns in children with SCD in specialty care. Flexible and collaborative care and sustainability are key considerations for effective programming, with pediatric psychologists uniquely positioned to provide optimal integrated care.