Study Details | Pathways to Work

28416-Study of the MOM Pro

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a low-attrition randomized controlled trial with no known issues that suggest the findings cannot be attributed to the intervention.

Intervention: The MOM Program

Population and employment barriers:

Female

Services provided:

Supportive services

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

This study was a randomized controlled trial. Eligible participants were mothers or caregivers who had recently given birth and who lived in high-poverty ZIP codes in Philadelphia. Participants were recruited while still in the hospital's postpartum unit. Mothers or caregivers were eligible if their infants did not have a low birth weight or any identified genetic or developmental disorders, and if they had not received any intervention from the hospital's intensive care unit. Researchers screened potential participants for eligibility, requested their consent to participate, and then randomly assigned participants. The study identified 650 eligible participants during the recruitment period from July 2001 to January 2002. Of the eligible participants, 302 mothers provided consent to participate in the study. A member of the study team randomly assigned eligible participants participants to the intervention or comparison group. To ensure an even spread of assignments over time, the study team randomly assigned eligible participants in blocks of 20—with assignments randomly and evenly spread between the two groups. The study team randomly assigned 152 mothers or caregivers to the intervention group and 150 to the comparison group.

Time period of study:

The study team enrolled participants in the study from July 2001 to January 2002 and followed participants for 33 months.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase long-term employment, Decrease long-term benefit receipt

Other outcome domains examined:

Service receipt and duration, use of homeless services, child development assessment results, and infant health and behavioral characteristics

Study funded by:

The William Penn Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Claneil Foundation, an anonymous donor through The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Pew Charitable Trust’s Home Visiting Campaign

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Intervention group mean	Impact	Units	Findings	Sample size
Increase long-term employment	Months worked in past year	Months 22–33	High	7.10	6.80	-0.30	Months		271
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received any public assistance benefits, follow-up period	Months 1–33	High	74.00	76.00	2.00	Percentage points		271

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

Participants were mothers or caregivers with low incomes. Participants predominantly identified as African American (94 percent). They were, on average, 23 years of age, first-time mothers (44 percent), and mothers of female children (54 percent).

Age

Mean age

23 years

Sex

Female

100%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American

94%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents

100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Had low incomes

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Program history:

The study was a randomized controlled trial studying the larger MOM program, a home visiting program that served urban mothers and caregivers with low incomes by providing knowledge and resources to help them obtain early intervention support for their children. A replication of the MOM Program is being developed in other high-poverty areas in Philadelphia.

Intervention services:

The MOM Program provided mothers or caregivers with home visits and follow-up phone calls to foster participants' abilities to promote the health and development of their children. Participants received up to 11 home visits over 3 years. Home visits were scheduled to occur before a well-child visit, and the final home visit occurred when the child turned 33 months. A team of nurse practitioners and community workers provided home visits. Home visitors followed a protocol with prescribed goals and expectations for each visit. At 18 months, home visitors assessed children using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and shared the results with participants to provide insight into their child's development. Finally, home visitors discussed additional services that might be available for children, such as Early Head Start.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The comparison group received an informational booklet on services for their children.

Service receipt duration:

Participants received services for up to 33 months.

Study publications

Radcliffe, Jerilynn, Donald Schwarz, and Huaqing Zhao (2013). The MOM Program: Home visiting in partnership with pediatric care, Pediatrics 132(2): 153-159. Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24187118/.

Schwarz, Donald F., Ann L. O'Sullivan, Judith Guinn, Jennifer A. Mautone, Elyse C. Carlson, Huaging Zhao, Xuemei Zhang, Tara L. Esposito, Megan Askew, and Jerilynn Radcliffe (2012). Promoting early intervention referral through a randomized controlled home-visiting program, Journal of Early Intervention 34(1): 20-39.

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of the MOM Program

28416-Study of the MOM Pro

Study design

Design:

Study group formation:

Time period of study:

Primary outcome domains examined:

Other outcome domains examined:

Study funded by:

Results

Sample characteristics

Age

Sex

Participant race and ethnicity

Family status

Participant employment and public benefit status

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Program history:

Intervention services:

Mandatory services:

Comparison services:

Service receipt duration:

Study publications