Impacts of early intervention on family outcomes: A multicenter cross-sectional study in Japan

Recently, the concept of "family-centered" practice was integrated into early intervention programs in Japan. Services provided through early intervention can result in beneficial family outcomes. We previously validated the Family Outcomes Survey-Revised (FOS-R) for use in Japan, but the impact on families was not evaluated.

To evaluate potential impacts of early intervention on family outcomes and factors associated with outcome attainment.

An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was given to mothers of pre-school-age children with disabilities who were currently receiving early intervention at one of 12 development support centers across Japan. We evaluated scores of the Japanese version of the FOS-R using multivariable random effect models.

Data from a total of 394 mothers were analyzed. Longer duration of early intervention was positively associated with family outcomes (<12 mo vs. 12-23 mo; coefficient = 0.19, p = .02, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.36). Perceived helpfulness of early intervention was significantly associated with family outcomes (coefficient = 0.49, p < .001, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.55).

This study suggests that early intervention is associated with better outcomes for families, especially for families who perceive early intervention as helpful.