Child health services in transition: I. Theories, methods and launching.
OBJECTIVE
To describe an evidence-based model for preventive child health care and present some findings from baseline measurements.


METHODS
The model includes: parent education; methods for interaction and language training; follow-up of low birthweight children; identification and treatment of postnatal depression, interaction difficulties, motor problems, parenthood stress, and psychosocial problems. After baseline measurements at 18 mo (cohort I), the intervention was tested on children from 0 to 18 mo at 18 child health centres in Uppsala County (cohort II). Eighteen centres in other counties served as controls. Two centres from a privileged area were included in the baseline measurements as a "contrasting" sample. Data are derived from health records and questionnaires to nurses and mothers.


RESULTS
Baseline experiment (n = 457) and control mothers (n = 510) were largely comparable in a number of respects. Experiment parents were of higher educational and occupational status, and were more frequently of non-Nordic ethnicity. Mothers in the privileged area (n = 72) differed from other mothers in several respects. Experiment nurses devoted considerably fewer hours per week to child health services and to child patients than did control nurses.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite certain differences, experiment and control samples appeared comparable enough to permit, in a second step, conclusions about the effectiveness of the intervention.
Sundelin
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C
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Section for Paediatrics, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Magnusson
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M
Lagerberg
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D
D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009035:Mothers; D009726:Nurses; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011634:Public Health; D012923:Social Class; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome