Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Parenting, child development and primary care-'Crescer em Grande!' intervention (CeG!) based on the Touchpoints
Filipa Fareleira1,2, Maria Raul Xavier3, Julia Velte4
1Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal up201607919@g.uporto.pt.
Introduction:
Despite support for parenting being already recognised as a priority, there remains a paucity of evidence on how to facilitate its adoption in regular visits of maternal and child health primary care (PC). We describe the protocol for a study to assess the effect of an innovative universal Touchpoints-based intervention-'Crescer em Grande!' (CeG!) - when supporting the process of transition to parenthood and early infancy, at multiple PC units.
Methods And Analysis:
A cluster-randomised trial will be conducted in 12 PC units (clusters) from the Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. Participants will be a minimum of three family physicians and one nurse/unit, as well as 216 expecting parents and future babies until 18 months who are using the PC services. Sites will be randomised to either the CeG! or usual care. The CeG! will consist of: (1) the integration of the Touchpoints approach in PC maternal and well-child visits, with the support of 28 leaflets for parents to file in a folder; plus (2) training for PC providers on how to perform the CeG! into existing practice. Parents will be required to fill in questionnaires at point throughout their child's 18-month, mostly online. The primary outcome will be the self-perception of parental competence (Parenting Sense of Competence Scale). Other outcomes include: family functioning, couple dynamics, mental health, well-being/quality of life, psychological experience of pregnancy, attachment, child development. Acceptability, satisfaction and feasibility of CeG! will also be obtained from providers' and parents' perspectives. Costs associated with delivering the CeG! will be calculated. Study analyses will be under the principle of intention-to-treat.
Ethics And Dissemination:
Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Regional Health Administration. The results will be shared with participants and disseminated via peer-reviewed published papers, presentations at scientific and professional conferences.
Trial Registration Number:
ISRCTN90692907.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
00:55Parental Care
01:20Study Designs in Epidemiology
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and...
01:29Three Developmental Domains
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and weight,...
01:27Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...