Guidelines for Implementing Early Prevention Interventions in the Home to Support Parent-Child Relationships. Government Plan: The First 1,000 Days, 2020–2022

Early prevention interventions in the home have been implemented in many countries, and studies have demonstrated positive effects on: - the child’s psycho-emotional development, with fewer attachment issues at age one, fewer behavioral problems, and better cognitive, language, and motor development; - children’s health, with fewer accidents, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits, higher vaccination rates, and lower rates of low birth weight and prematurity; - children’s academic success; - maternal health, with better prenatal and postpartum care, fewer cases of gestational diabetes, fewer prenatal hospitalizations, fewer cesarean sections, less stress, and less perinatal depression; and longer intervals between pregnancies; - parenting, with greater parental knowledge; better identification of and response to the baby’s needs; greater satisfaction and a sense of parental competence; improved maternal ability to create a safe and stimulating environment; greater engagement, greater confidence, and less anxiety among fathers. Thus, the government’s “First 1,000 Days” plan encourages the implementation of such interventions among vulnerable families to support the parent-child relationship and promote the child’s development. It also aims to share the latest available scientific and experiential knowledge, thereby facilitating the high-quality rollout of new IPPADs in new regions. To meet this objective, three types of knowledge are presented here: findings from a literature review on factors promoting the success of interventions, data from a survey in France of IPPADs supporting the parent-child relationship, and results from a population-based survey measuring the appeal of such interventions to prospective and new parents. The results of the literature review and the population-based survey, combined with other previously published scientific knowledge, have identified thirteen quality criteria that promote the successful implementation of IPPADs supporting the parent-child bond, namely: 1. The intervention is based on evidence; 2. A theoretical framework in public health and/or parenting guides the intervention strategy; 3. A set of guidelines, a manual, and tools exist to guide the practice of professionals involved in the intervention; 4. The intervention takes into account the expectations of the population; 5. The intervention includes one or more objectives in addition to the primary objective of supporting the parent-child relationship; 6. The intervention is offered to individuals in vulnerable situations; 7. The intervention begins during the prenatal period; 8. The duration of the intervention is at least six months; 9. The intervention includes a minimum of six visits; 10. Professionals providing home-based services have undergone specific training to deliver the intervention; 11. The professionals involved receive supervision or practice reviews to help them implement the intervention; 12. Maintaining the same visitor(s) throughout the program helps establish a lasting bond of trust with the family; 13. Regular evaluation of the intervention determines whether the objectives are being met. Among the 275 early prevention home-based interventions identified in France that meet the definition set forth by the “First 1,000 Days” plan, 6.5% meet all of these criteria, and 28% of current interventions and 42% of future interventions meet at least ten quality criteria. These interventions have strong potential for effectiveness, which should be evaluated using scientifically robust methods to confirm this and to draw lessons that are useful to all practitioners.

Author(s): Trompette Justine, Sempé Sandie

Publishing year: 2023

Pages: 102 p.

Collection: Current State of Knowledge

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