Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs

Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.

Most Recently Added EBPs:

Number of results: 20


Updated Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger

In February 2019, ACIP updated its immunization guidelines for children and adolescents. The revised guidelines are available in two newly redesigned charts, one for providers and one for parents. They include new or revised recommendations for hepatitis A vaccine (HepA), hepatitis B vaccine (Hep B), influenza vaccine, and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap), as well as clarification of the recommendations for inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV).

Topics:

Immunization

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Providing Culturally Effective Care

This toolkit is a practical, hands-on resource designed to promote culturally effective services for children and families. It consists of nine brief “chapters” addressing health literacy and cultural differences in areas such as health beliefs and practices, infant care and feeding, the role of women, and child behavior and discipline. Each of the brief narratives is accompanied by a list of resources, including links to supplemental reading, patient education materials in multiple languages, checklists, assessments, and more.

Topics:

Health Literacy Nutrition Parenting Education Safe Sleep Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Safe Sleep Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Immunization Schedules for Infants and Children

The recommended immunization schedule is designed to protect infants and children early in life, when they are most vulnerable and before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases. This web page contains immunization schedules that parents can view or print showing the age or age range when each vaccine or series of shots is recommended. Available in English and Spanish.

Topics:

Immunization

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP): A Guide to Safety Counseling in Office Practice

Counseling parents and children about the prevention of common childhood injuries is an important contribution toward preventing the major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. TIPP is designed to provide a systematic method for pediatricians to counsel parents and children about adopting behaviors to prevent injuries—behaviors that are effective and capable of being accomplished by most families.This Guide includes a table showing the major safety issues and injury hazards for each age group for children 0-10 years old, and provides counseling guidelines for educating parents about injury prevention tailored to the age of their child.

 

Topics:

Parenting Education

Approaches:

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Baby Basics

Baby Basics is a set of materials (book, planner, posters) and programs designed specifically to provide lower-income and lower-literacy populations with crucial prenatal health information and support. The materials are designed to be beautiful and easy to read, serving as a catalyst for learning and family literacy. Both materials and programs strive to engage and educate underserved parents to become effective users of the healthcare system and advocate for themselves and their families.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Birth Spacing Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Postpartum Visit Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care

This chart shows recommended pediatric preventive health care services to be delivered at well-child visits for children ages 0-21, including history, measurements, screenings, assessments, procedures, physical exam, oral health,  and anticipatory guidance. These guidelines represent a consensus by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Bright Futures. The recommendations in this statement do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

Topics:

Other

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Healthy Habits for Happy Smiles Handout Series (English)

A series of easy-to-read informational materials for parents on taking care of young children’s oral health. Includes handouts on: brushing your child’s teeth, choosing healthy drinks for your child, getting fluoride for your child, helping your baby with teething pain, preventing mouth injuries, and visiting the dental clinic.

Topics:

Oral Health

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status: Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM)

Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status: Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM) is a validated screening and surveillance tool that elicits parents’ report on a child’s skills and behavior. Six to eight questions per visit are used to assess fine motor, gross motor, expressive language, receptive language, self-help, and socio-emotional skills. The survey is designed for children at any age from 0 to 8 and takes about 5 minutes to complete and one minute to score.

Topics:

Parenting Education Risk Assessment Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS)

Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) is a ten-question validated surveillance and screening tool designed to elicit parents’ concerns about their child’s development, behavior, and mental health. It takes about 5 minutes for parents to complete and 1-2 minutes to score. The screen can be used to indicate whether reassurance, advice, watchful waiting, further screening, or referral are called for in a child between ages 0 and 8.

Topics:

Parenting Education Risk Assessment Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Parents as Teachers (PAT)

PAT aims to increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices, provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues, prevent child abuse and neglect, and increase children’s school readiness and school success. The PAT model consists of one-on-one home visits, group connections/meetings, health and developmental screenings for children, and a resource network for parents. Program lasts for at least two years, beginning as early as pregnancy and ending at the child’s 3rd birthday or at kindergarten entry.

Topics:

Home Visiting Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Reading to Child Daily Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS)

The TABS Screener is a 15 item checklist completed by parents to identify children who should receive more thorough assessment for developmental items related to temperament and self-regulation. If a child’s score indicates a potential problem, the more extensive TABS assessment tool can be used. For use with children ages 11 to 71 months, TABS can be used for screening, research, determining eligibility for services, planning programs, and monitoring child progress and program effectiveness.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart

The Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart measures social-emotional milestones in young children ages 0 to 42 months. It is a questionnaire completed by the child’s parent or other caregiver to understand how the child uses all capacities to meet needs, deal with feelings, think, and communicate. Used to determine whether further assessment or referral is warranted and can assist in monitoring growth and planning intervention.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Socio-Emotional (ASQ:SE)

ASQ:SE is a screening tool that identifies infants and young children whose social and emotional development requires further evaluation to determine if referral for intervention services is necessary. ASQ:SE was developed to help home visiting, early intervention, Early Head Start, Head Start, child welfare agencies, and other early childhood programs accurately screen infants and young children determine who would benefit from an in-depth evaluation in the area of social-emotional development. Parents fill out easy to score questionnaires specific to their child’s age. Used for children 3-66 months.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Topics:

Breastfeeding Nutrition

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative (OPQC)

The Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative (OPQC) is a statewide consortium of perinatal clinicians, hospitals, and policy makers and governmental entities that aims, through the use of improvement science, to reduce preterm births and improve birth outcomes across Ohio. OPQC uses monthly action period calls and face-to-face sessions with teams to review individual and aggregate data, learn from teams that have been successful at making changes and achieving improved outcomes, and apply the Model for Improvement to test specific strategies. OPQC was founded in 2007, and is seen as a national model in statewide perinatal improvement.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Reducing Early Elective Deliveries Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

PASOs

“PASOs (or “steps” in Spanish) aims to improve health of Latino families in South Carolina by educating Latino parents and caregivers on issues related to healthy pregnancies and prenatal care, as well as appropriate child development and resources for child health, and by advocating for better, more accessible services for Latinos. PASOs provides a free, comprehensive 14-hour prenatal empowerment course, community health outreach and individual interventions to Latino families, and consultative services for maternal and child health providers and policymakers throughout South Carolina.

Topics:

Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Reading to Child Daily Reproductive Life Plan Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Centering Pregnancy

CenteringPregnancy is a multifaceted model of group care that integrates the three major components of care: health assessment, education, and support, into a unified program within a group setting. Eight to twelve women with similar gestational ages meet together, learning care skills, participating in a facilitated discussion, and developing a support network with other group members. Each Pregnancy group meets for a total of 10 sessions throughout pregnancy and early postpartum. The practitioner, within the group space, completes standard physical health assessments.

CenteringPregnancy starts around the beginning of the second trimester and goes through delivery.

Topics:

Other Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

The Parent Child Assistance Program (PCAP)

Evidence-based home visitation case-management model for mothers who abuse alcohol and/or drugs during their pregnancies. PCAP’s goals are to assist substance-abusing pregnant women and mothers in obtaining treatment for substance abuse and staying in recovery, to ensure that children are in safe and stable home environments and are connected to health care, to connect mothers to community resources, and to prevent future births of alcohol and drug-affected infants. Piloted in Washington State, PCAP has been replicated in 7 states, and across Canada and New Zealand.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Home Visiting

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Pathways Model

The Pathways Model employs community health workers who connect at-risk women to evidence-based care using individualized pathways designed to produce healthy outcomes. The model promotes timely, efficient care coordination through incentives. It prevents service duplication by using a Community Hub, a regional point of patient registration, and quality assurance to support a network of agencies involved in providing care to the target population. The first implementation of the model in Richland, Ohio, resulted in increased services to at-risk women and a decline in the rate of low-birth-weight babies.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.