The Impact of COVID on Early Intervention Parenting Support for Mothers in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder

COVID-19 adversely impacted parents with substance use disorders (SUDs) as evidenced by increased overdoses. This study used a qualitative approach to examine COVID’s impact on experiences and perceptions of a parenting program designed for mothers in recovery from SUDs, “Mothering from the Inside Out” (MIO), implemented through Early Intervention (EI) home-visiting services. Four EI programs participated in training and implementation of MIO. Subjects included 10 eligible EI providers trained in August 2019 or August 2021 and 11 mothers in recovery from SUDs. More mothers completed MIO during the pandemic compared to before. We conducted inductive thematic analysis of exit interviews and field notes, along with interpretation of process measures of intervention implementation. Initially, the switch to telehealth negatively impacted the provider-parent relationship but made engagement logistically easier for some mothers. Parent and provider participants reported the need for additional psychosocial support due to increased stressors, as well as ways that MIO helped them cope during the pandemic. COVID made EI enrollment of families more difficult in general; however once enrolled, telehealth improved retention in MIO, meeting a critical need during the pandemic.