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.
This brief looks at common acceptability, availability, and accessibility barriers to mental and substance use disorder (behavioral health) treatment and services in rural communities and presents ways telehealth can help surmount some of these barriers. The term telehealth refers to using internet and communications technologies, such as videoconferencing, chat, and text messaging, to provide health information and treatments in real time.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Depression
Approaches:
Strengthen Family Resilience
Benchmarks:
Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening
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.
This guide is intended to support the efforts of states, tribes, and local communities in addressing the needs of pregnant women with opioid use disorders and their infants and families, through a coordinated, multi-sytem approach. The guide is designed to assist healthcare providers, SUD treatment providers, child welfare programs and judicial systems to improve their collaborative practice, and to offer information about additional resources that will strengthen their capacity to provide coordinated, best-practice care and services Collaborative planning and implementation of services that reflect best practices for treating opioid use disorders during pregnancy are yielding promising results in communities across the country. .
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Patient-centered Medical Home Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
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.
Failure to address IPV among women who use alcohol or other drugs has been found to increase the likelihood of continued drug use, relapse, attrition from drug treatment and a host of other negative physical and mental health consequences. WINGS is a single-session intervention that aims to address a critical gap in IPV services for women by identifying women in the community at risk of IPV, enabling them to develop social support and safety planning skills to reduce their risks for IPV and linking them to IPV-related services and substance use treatment. The intervention may be delivered in-person or via a computerized self-paced version.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Intimate Partner Violence
Approaches:
Strengthen Family Resilience
Benchmarks:
Intimate Partner Violence
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.
Family Spirit is an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program designed for and by American Indian communities. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally focused, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. From pregnancy through the child’s 3rd birthday, parents gain knowledge and skills to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, optimizes local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional health care workforce in low resource communities. Evidence from three randomized controlled trials has documented important results including: increased parenting knowledge and involvement; decreased maternal depression; increased home safety; decreased emotional and behavioral problems of mothers; and decreased emotional and behavioral problems of children. The Family Spirit curriculum modules cover: Prenatal Care, Infant Care, Your Growing Child, Toddler Care, My Family and Me, and Healthy Living.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience
Benchmarks:
Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Reproductive Life Plan Safe Sleep Smoking Abstinence Sustaining Breastfeeding
Evidence Rating:
I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.
Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. Lasts through pregnancy until baby’s first birthday. The messages address topics such as prenatal care, labor signs and symptoms, urgent alerts, breastfeeding, nutrition, exercise, oral health, immunizations, birth defect prevention, developmental milestones, safe sleep, family violence, injury prevention, mental health, substance abuse, car seat safety, and more.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Intimate Partner Violence Nutrition Parenting Education Safe Sleep
Approaches:
Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience
Benchmarks:
Initiating Breastfeeding Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Follow Up Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding
Evidence Rating:
I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.
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.
Brief intervention for non-pregnant women of childbearing age that are at risk for Alcohol Exposed Pregnancy. The intervention consists of four motivational interviewing sessions with a counselor/interventionist and one contraception counseling visit with a health care provider over a 12- to 14-week period. Program participants receive in-depth assessment of alcohol use and contraceptive use patterns; counseling about the consequences of alcohol use during pregnancy; advice and counseling, referral to community treatment services for alcohol-dependent drinkers; reproductive health education, and contraceptive services. Can be adapted, and has been implemented in about 30 sites.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
Reproductive Life Plan
Evidence Rating:
I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.
