Partnering with Reach Out and Read to understand families’ experiences with books and their babies

core topic(s)

Early Literacy , Early Relational Health , Pediatric Primary Care , Reach Out and Read (ROR) , Shared Reading

Population Characteristics

Infant/Newborn , Medical Providers

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Clinic-Based Programs and Interventions , Implementation and Evaluation , Parent-Provider Relationships/Interactions , Reading Frequency

objectives

Via a research–practice partnership centering community partners' needs and goals in the research design, we examined how parent, infant, and social-contextual characteristics relate to shared book reading frequency and perceptions of Reach Out and Read (ROR), a national physician-to-family program.

exposure

ROR

outcomes evaluated

Examined how parent, infant, and social-contextual characteristics relate to shared book reading frequency and perceptions of Reach Out and Read (ROR)

setting

Southeastern U.S. state, from two participating pediatric clinics

methods

Parents (N = 70) in a southeastern U.S. state were recruited from two participating pediatric clinics and responded to an online survey. Regression analyses examined significant infant, parent, and social-contextual predictors of shared book reading frequency and perceived ROR value.

sample size

N = 70 parents

measures

Online survey: examined significant infant, parent, and social-contextual predictors of shared book reading frequency and perceived ROR value

results

Findings indicated that parents' insurance, mental health symptoms, and perceptions of the parent-provider relationship significantly predicted shared book reading frequency. Perceived ROR value was best predicted by parents' mental health symptoms.

conclusions

Results suggest the value of considering socioeconomic status, parental mental health symptoms, and the parent–provider relationship when promoting early literacy and relationship-building experiences during infancy.

limitations

Implication and future research points to strengthening the parent–provider relationship and talking with families about their needs and experiences with their infants may support clinicians in partnering with families around literacy promotion and early relational health.