Improving Early Childhood Development among Vulnerable Populations: A Pilot Initiative at a Women, Infants, and Children Clinic

• Published in: Child development research 2018, Vol.2018, p.1-8
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Brian A., Downey, Jacy L., Shriver, Amy E., Goff, Karen L., Ferguson, Alyssa M., Cabral de Mello, Meena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child development; Parenting
• ISSN: 2090-3987; 2090-3995
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/3943157

Objective. Early childhood development (ECD) programs have demonstrated drastic improvements in survival, growth, health, and social productivity. An ECD pilot intervention was delivered to vulnerable populations of a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, to assess ECD outcomes and parental receivability in this setting. Study Design. In a randomized, single blinded control initiative, WIC group sessions of mothers (children aged 2 years and younger) were selected for pilot ECD intervention (37 participants) or control (36). Care for Child Development ECD course material was supplemented to intervention groups. Survey results were assessed with paired samples T-testing and by an ANOVA. Results. Pilot session receivability demonstrated significance in all areas relative to control: enjoyment, p = 0.008 ; learning capacity, p = 0.011 ; and participant sharing, p = 0.023 . Furthermore, the previously validated ECD intervention demonstrated significantly improved cumulative 1 month behavior outcomes following the intervention: p = 0.006 . Conclusions. The WIC setting provides an ideal environment for delivering ECD education beyond traditional counseling in nutrition. High receivability indices among parents demonstrate remarkable capacity for improvement and growth. The significance in receivability, as well as 1 month behavior outcomes, represents parents’ overall readiness to enhance the home environment for their child if merely educated how.