Home-based support services offering assistance with transportation, obtaining safe housing, employment and educational goals, in addition to information on parenting and counselling services.
The Evidence Summaries presented on this site were drawn from the best available evidence of the program’s effectiveness from this review. It does not necessarily reflect all the evidence about the program. The research was selected and assessed for inclusion on the Menu and towards the evidence rating because it met selection criteria related to the specific topic area, study design, quality assessment and the outcomes of interest.
Overview
Evidence Rating
Pathway
- Early help
Australian Study
Risk of Bias
Cost
Target Age Group
About
Building Healthy Children (BHC) provides home-based support services to young mothers, offering parenting education, parent-child attachment and maternal depression therapy, in addition to any needed support services like food, housing and transportation for 3 years.
Aims
- Promote positive parent-child relationships with healthy child development
- Decrease the number of families involved with Child Protective Services.
Impact
The evidence suggests that BHC had no effect or difference in reducing child protection system contact. Evidence was mixed for the use of health services.
| Outcome domain | Outcome measured | Positive effect | No effect | Negative effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System | Child protection system contact | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| System | Health service use | Yes | Yes | Not found |
How to read the table:
When ‘Yes’ is indicated for one of the three directions of effect, this means there is evidence of ‘positive’, ‘no effect’ or ‘negative effect’. Evidence is mixed and inconclusive when ‘Yes’ is indicated for two or more directions of effect. Further information about direction of effect can be found on the Using the Menu page.
BHC has an evidence rating of Supported+.
This means that BHC has evidence from one randomised controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experiment (QE) demonstrating positive, long-term impact on at least one child and family outcome.
This assessment is based on one research output of RCT design. BHC has not received a Well-supported rating as it has not yet replicated its results in another RCT or QE with a different population or setting.
| Study design | Number of research outputs included |
|---|---|
| Systematic review with meta-analysis | Not identified or included |
| Randomised controlled trial | 1 |
| Quasi-experiment | Not identified or included |
The evidence has some concerns with risk of bias.
We can be reasonably confident about the results and the quality of evidence in the included study.
The study was conducted in the United States and does not include Aboriginal children and families.
Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is critical to recognise, document and share practices that lead to improved outcomes for Aboriginal children and families. The department is consulting with the Aboriginal community and stakeholders on how Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is defined and included on the Menu.
Location
- The study was conducted in New York, United States.
Sample characteristics
- 497 families (270 intervention, 227 control) participated in the study.
- Participants were young mothers with up to 2 children younger than age 3, with no previous Child Protective Services indication.
- Participants identified as African-American(68%), Hispanic (19%) and Biracial (11%).
Implementation
Delivery model, mode and setting
- BHC is delivered in-person, to individual families, in the community setting.
Target cohort
- Women under age 21 when their first child was born, or in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Families can have no more than 2 children, with the oldest child under age 3.
- Children of young, low-income and at-risk mothers.
Program delivery
- Support services are based on family interest, and can include assistance with transportation, obtaining safe housing, employment and educational goals, in addition to information on parenting and child development, parent-child relationships and counselling services.
- Monthly family events are held to meet other young mothers and do fun activities with their child(ren).
Duration and intensity
- Home-based support services are provided for up to 3 years, until the child turns age 3.
Manuals and guides
- We were unable to locate any manuals or guides to implement BHC.
Additional information
- The Mt. Hope family centre website has more information on the Building Healthy Children program.
To our knowledge, BHC is not available and has not been implemented in Australia.
Cost
We were unable to locate any information on the cost of BHC.
References
Studies identified and included in the review
- Paradis HA, Sandler M, Manly JT & Valentine L (2013). Building healthy children: evidence-based home visitation integrated with pediatric medical homes. Pediatrics, 132:S174-179.
Studies identified but not counted towards the evidence rating due to study quality
- van der Put CE, Assink M, Gubbels J & Boekhout van Solinge NF (2018). Identifying effective components of child maltreatment interventions: A meta analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 21(2):171-202.