Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Characteristics, access, utilization, satisfaction, and outcomes of healthy start participants in eight sites
Margo Rosenbach1, So O'Neil2, Benjamin Cook3
1Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, 955 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 801, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. mrosenbach@mathematica-mpr.com.
Insights
Healthy Start participants reported high satisfaction and improved infant health outcomes, though challenges like smoking and disparities in low-birth weight persist. Further investment in interconception care may address long-term needs.
Area of Science:
- Maternal and Child Health
- Public Health Interventions
- Health Disparities Research
Background:
- The Healthy Start program aims to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
- Understanding participant experiences and outcomes is crucial for program evaluation and improvement.
- Existing research highlights disparities in health outcomes among low-income populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the characteristics, access, utilization, satisfaction, and outcomes of Healthy Start participants.
- To compare Healthy Start participant outcomes with national benchmarks and other population groups.
- To identify areas of success and challenges within the Healthy Start program.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted with 646 Healthy Start participants with infants aged 6-12 months.
- Data were collected between October 2006 and January 2007 across eight selected sites.
- Participant outcomes were compared to two national benchmarks and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS).
Main Results:
- Over 90% of participants reported satisfaction with the program; unmet needs were low except for dental, housing, and childcare.
- Infants of participants had better healthcare access than their mothers.
- Breastfeeding and safe infant sleep practices were high, but smoking cessation and low-birth weight rates require improvement, with significant racial disparities observed.
Conclusions:
- Healthy Start demonstrates success in participant satisfaction and certain infant health practices, potentially due to health education.
- Persistent challenges include smoking cessation and reducing low-birth weight disparities, particularly among Black participants.
- Longer-term investments, such as interconception care, are recommended to address enduring maternal and child health needs and reduce disparities.
Abstract:
To describe the characteristics, access, utilization, satisfaction, and outcomes of Healthy Start participants in eight selected sites, a survey of Healthy Start participants with infants ages 6-12-months-old at time of interview was conducted between October 2006 and January 2007. The response rate was 66% (n = 646), ranging from 37% in one site to >70% in seven sites. Healthy Start participants' outcomes were compared to two national benchmarks. Healthy Start participants reported that they were satisfied with the program (>90% on five measures). Level of unmet need was 6% or less for most services, except for dental appointments (11%), housing (13%), and child care (11%). Infants had significantly better access to medical care than did their mothers, with higher rates of insurance coverage, medical homes, and checkups, and fewer unmet needs for health care. Healthy Start participants' rates of ever breastfeeding (72%) and putting infants to sleep on their backs (70%) were at or near the Healthy People 2010 objectives, and considerably higher than rates among low-income mothers in the ECLS. The high rate of health education (>90%) may have contributed to these outcomes. Elimination of smoking among Healthy Start participants (46%) fell short of the Healthy People 2010 objective (99%). The low-birth weight (LBW) rate among Black Healthy Start participants (14%) was three times higher than the rate for Whites and Hispanics (5% each). Overall, the LBW rate in the eight sites (7.5%) was similar to the rate for low-income mothers in the ECLS, but both rates were above the Healthy People 2010 objective (5%). Challenges remain in reducing disparities in maternal and child health outcomes. Further attention to risk factors associated with LBW (especially smoking) may help close the gaps. The life course theory suggests that improved outcomes may require longer-term investments. Healthy Start's emerging focus on interconception care has the potential to address longer-term needs of participants.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:25Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
01:11Pulse Assessment Sites
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...