Pediatric Mental Health Prevention Programs in Primary Care

Access: Institutional Access

Publication year

2024

study description

Intervention evaluation and review

core topic(s)

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

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Anticipatory Guidance , Clinic-Based Programs and Interventions , Home Language/Literacy/Learning Environment , Parent-Child Relationships/Interactions , Reading Frequency , Smart Beginnings , Validity, Reliability, Feasibility, and Acceptability , Video Interaction Project

objectives

This article presents 6 innovative approaches in prevention programs in pediatric care. Note that the selected approaches and programs serve as examples to illustrate innovative developments in this field.

exposure

Prevention programs in pediatric care

outcomes evaluated

Effectiveness of pediatric primary care prevention programs, including relationship-based approaches, and incorporating ROR as a model for dissemination across the primary care community

setting

Pediatric primary care

methods

This article presents 6 innovative approaches in prevention programs in pediatric care (ie, PlayReadVIP, FNI, SFFC, SB, and ROR). Note that the selected approaches and programs serve as examples to illustrate innovative developments in this field. More comprehensive lists can be found elsewhere.

sample size

N=6 pediatric interventions

measures

Review

results

Six selected innovative approaches in prevention programs in pediatric care demonstrated recent research and clinical efforts in engaging families and promoting mental health in young children. Among the interventions reviewed, several (ie, PlayReadVIP, FNI, SFFC, SB, and ROR) have demonstrated robust effects on early childhood mental health and key social-emotional antecedents, including reduced attention problems, and fewer externalizing and internalizing problems, as well as enhancements in cognition, language, and literacy. These interventions, together with HS, have shown improvements in positive parenting behaviors, such as cognitively stimulating interactions with children, mother-infant coregulation, maternal warmth and sensitivity, and more frequent parent-child book reading. PlayReadVIP and FNI have also shown positive effects on parental mental health, such as reduced depression and parenting stress, while SB buffered impacts of parental mental health on children. For many other interventions, studies are underway to evaluate their benefits for child mental health (ie, TPS, PARENT, DULCE, HMG, and TGS).

conclusions

The reviewed innovative approaches demonstrate strong potential to foster child mental health and present opportunities to overcome some significant challenges in pediatric preventive care by nourishing trusting relationships between families and child development professionals, accommodating remote delivery, disseminating training to health professionals, offering universal screening and tailored services, engaging interdisciplinary expertise, and building centralized resources.

limitations

For better prevention outcomes, future clinical practice should incorporate a broader engagement of family members, especially the father, and integrate strategies addressing perinatal maternal mental health, such that children’s mental health risks can be mitigated before birth.