| Screening decision | Screening conclusion |
|---|---|
| Passes screens | Eligible for review |
| Rating | Design | Attrition | Baseline equivalence | Reassignment | Confounding factors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | Randomized controlled trial | Low | Established on race and ethnicity; not established on SES or baseline measures of the outcomes; some outcomes not feasible to assess at baseline. | None | None |
Four outcomes from this report were also reported in Jacobs et al. (2015), and those findings are reported elsewhere on the website. Those outcomes include: (1) at least one substantiated report of maltreatment, through 27 months post-enrollment; (2) mother finished one year of college, two years post-enrollment; (3) mother finished high school/<abbr title="General Equivalency Diploma">GED</abbr>, two years post-enrollment; and (4) repeat birth (self-report), two years post-enrollment. There were slight differences in the odds ratios reported for the four outcomes between this report and the journal article, but in both cases the statistical significance and favorability of the outcomes were the same within both reports. Information on attrition and baseline equivalence was based on correspondence with the author.
| Study participants | Among the 837 women who were recruited for the study, 517 were randomly assigned to receive home visiting services and 320 were randomly assigned to a control group that received referral and information only. Eligible participants were female, first-time parents between the ages of 16 and 20 and spoke either English or Spanish. The ethnicity of the full sample was as follows: 37 percent white non-Hispanic, 19 percent black non-Hispanic, 36 percent Hispanic, and 8 percent of other race/ethnicities. On average, mothers were 18.8 years old upon the birth of the child. Eighteen percent received cash assistance and 17 percent received food assistance prior to enrollment in the study. |
|---|---|
| Setting | The study took place within 18 sites in Massachusetts. |
| Intervention services | Home visiting services were offered from pregnancy through the child's third birthday. On average, mothers received 24 home visits over 14.7 months. In addition to home visiting, the program included goal-setting and group-based activities and linkages and referrals to additional resources. |
| Comparison conditions | Mothers in the comparison condition received information about child development and were referred to other services but they did not receive home visits. |
| Staff characteristics and training | Staff characteristics and training were not described in the current study; however, they were described in the Initial Findings Report (Easterbrooks et al., 2012). Home visitors were paraprofessionals with demonstrated skills in working with families and building trusting relationships. They were required to complete a six-day training at the time of their hire and 10 additional topic trainings within their first year. They also participated in 1 to 1.5 hours of supervision activities with their supervisors each week. |
| Funding sources | The evaluation was funded by the Children's Trust of Massachusetts. |
| Author affiliation | The authors are affiliated with Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research, the evaluation partner of Massachusetts Healthy Families. |
| Rating | Outcome measure | Effect | Sample | Timing of follow-up | Sample size | Intervention group | Comparison group | Group difference | Effect size | Statistical significance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | Mother received mental health services after pregnancy (self report), time 3 | FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect |
MA sample | 2 years post enrollment | 611 mothers | Not reported | Not reported | OR = 1.23 | HomeVEE calculated = 0.13 | Not statistically significant, p = 0.26 |
| Rating | Outcome measure | Effect | Sample | Timing of follow-up | Sample size | Intervention group | Comparison group | Group difference | Effect size | Statistical significance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | Repeat pregnancy (self report), time 3 | FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect |
MA sample | 2 years post enrollment | 612 mothers | Not reported | Not reported | OR = 0.94 | HomeVEE calculated = -0.04 | Not statistically significant, p = 0.72 | footnote162Negative value is favorable to the intervention. |
| Outcome measure | Description of measure | Data collection method | Properties of measure |
|---|---|---|---|
Mother received mental health services after pregnancy (self report), time 3 |
Phone interview question on whether the mother received mental health services since becoming pregnant | Mother self-report | Not reported |
| Outcome measure | Description of measure | Data collection method | Properties of measure |
|---|---|---|---|
Repeat pregnancy (self report), time 3 |
Interview question on whether the mother had become pregnant again since the birth of the target child | Mother self-report | Not reported |
