Randomised controlled trial of effect of Baby Check on use of health services in first 6 months of life.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of Baby Check, an illness scoring system for babies of 6 months or less, on parents' use of health services for their baby.


METHODS
Randomised controlled trial.


METHODS
13 general practices in Glasgow.


METHODS
997 newly delivered mothers, randomised to receive either Baby Check and Play It Safe, an accident prevention leaflet (n=497), or Play It Safe alone (control group, n=500).


METHODS
Data on consultations and referrals extracted from general practice notes after 6 months.


RESULTS
At the time of recruitment, maternal characteristics were similar for both groups (mean maternal age 29 years; deprivation categories 6 and 1 in both groups; 424 (45%) mothers were primiparous). At 6 months, general practice notes were available for 467 (94%) of the Baby Check group and 468 (94%) of the control group. The number of general practitioner consultations did not differ between the groups: median number of consultations was 2 (interquartile range 1 to 4) in the Baby Check group, and 2 (1 to 3) in the control group. Use of out of hours services did not differ significantly between the two groups (86 v 85; P=0.93).


CONCLUSIONS
Distributing Baby Check to an unselected group of mothers does not affect use of health services for infants up to 6 months of age.
Thomson
H
H
Department of General Practice, University of Glasgow, Woodside Health Centre, Glasgow, G20 7LR. Hilary.Thomson@ed.ac.uk
Ross
S
S
Wilson
P
P
McConnachie
A
A
Watson
R
R
D000328:Adult; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare; D005194:Family Practice; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012606:Scotland