WITHDRAWN: Home-based social support for socially disadvantaged mothers

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Maternal and Child Health
• Social Epidemiology

Background:

• Socio-economically disadvantaged mothers and their infants face elevated risks of injury, abuse, neglect, and health issues.
• Home visitation programs are recognized interventions to improve health outcomes for disadvantaged children.
• Previous randomized trials have explored the impact of these programs on maternal and child health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of postnatal home-based support programs for socially disadvantaged women and their infants.
• To assess the impact of these interventions on child injury, abuse, neglect, and healthcare utilization.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of randomized and quasi-randomized trials of postnatal home visits offering additional support.
• Searches conducted in the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register.
• Trial quality assessment and data collection through author contact.

Main Results:

• Eleven studies involving 2992 families were included, many with methodological limitations.
• A trend towards reduced child injury rates was observed (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.54–1.03), though not statistically significant.
• Infants in support groups showed higher rates of complete well-child immunizations; no significant difference in child abuse/neglect rates was found due to surveillance bias.

Conclusions:

• Postnatal home-based support programs appear safe and potentially beneficial for disadvantaged mothers and children.
• Possible benefits include reduced child injury rates and improved immunization status.
• Interpreting findings on child abuse and neglect is challenging due to differential surveillance bias.