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Enhancing the early home learning environment through a brief group parenting intervention: study protocol for a
Jan M Nicholson1,2,3,4, Warren Cann5, Jan Matthews5
1Parenting Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia. j.nicholson@latrobe.edu.au.
BMC Pediatrics
|June 4, 2016
Summary
Parenting programs like smalltalk can improve the home learning environment for disadvantaged families. This study evaluated smalltalk, with or without home coaching, for infants and toddlers.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Early Childhood Education
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Home learning environment quality significantly impacts early childhood language and communication skills.
- Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately affected by suboptimal home learning environments.
- The 'smalltalk' intervention aims to enhance the home learning environment for these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the 'smalltalk' parenting intervention on the home learning environment.
- To compare the effects of a group-only program versus a program with added home coaching.
- To assess the intervention's impact on children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families.
Main Methods:
- Two parallel cluster randomized controlled superiority trials for infants (6-12 months) and toddlers (12-36 months).
- Randomization of 20 local government areas in Victoria, Australia, into three arms: standard care, smalltalk group-only, or smalltalk plus home coaching.
- Outcomes measured by parent report and observation at baseline, 12 weeks, and 32 weeks, using intention-to-treat multilevel models.
Main Results:
- 986 infant parents and 1200 toddler parents enrolled, with 84% of families meeting risk factor criteria for poor child development.
- Baseline data collected from a large, socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort.
- Primary outcomes (parent verbal responsivity, home activities) and secondary outcomes (parenting confidence, child development) assessed at 32 weeks.
Conclusions:
- The study provides data on a brief group parenting intervention for enhancing early home learning environments in disadvantaged families.
- Evidence will be generated on the necessity of additional one-on-one support and optimal delivery timing (infancy vs. toddlerhood).
- Findings will inform potential scale-up of the 'smalltalk' program within existing early childhood services.
Keywords:
Cluster randomised controlled trialEarly childhoodHome coachingHome learning environmentParenting group interventionPlaygroupsSocioeconomic disadvantageMore Related Videos
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