The MOM Program: home visiting in partnership with pediatric care

Home visiting programs aim to improve child health, reduce developmental risks, and enhance use of community resources. How these programs can work in collaboration with pediatric practice has been understudied. The MOM Program was a randomized controlled trial of an innovative home visiting program to serve urban, low-income children. Program aims included promoting child health through regular pediatric visits and enhancing school readiness through developmental screenings and referrals to early intervention. The objective of this report was to describe the partnership with the pediatric community and selected program results.

A total of 302 mothers were enrolled in the program at the time of children's birth. Eligible infants were full-term, without identified neurologic/genetic disorder or ICU intervention, and from high-poverty zip codes. A total of 152 were randomized to the home visiting program, with 9 visits over 3 years, scheduled before well-child visits; 150 were randomized to the control condition with no home visits. Medical records and case notes provided information on pediatric appointments kept and program outcomes.

Eighty-nine percent of both groups were retained throughout the 3-year program; 86% of the home-visited group received at least 7 of the 9 planned home visits. Home-visited mothers were >10 times as likely to keep pediatric appointments, compared with those not visited. Barriers to service access were varied, and theory-driven approaches were taken to address these.

Home visiting programs can provide important partnerships with pediatric health care providers. Integrating home visiting services with pediatric care can enhance child health, and this subject warrants expansion.