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Project Description

The Infant Health and Development program was initiated when infants were discharged from the neonatal nursery and continued until 36 months of age. Infants in the intervention and follow-up groups were given medical, developmental, and social assessments, with referral for pediatric care and other services as indicated. The services exclusively for the intervention group consisted of three components: home visits, child attendance at a child development center, and parent group meetings. All services were provided free to the families.

Project duration: Jan 1985 - Jun 2000

Sites studied include Little Rock, Arkansas
Bronx, New York
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Miami, Florida
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dallas, Texas
Seattle, Washington
New Haven, Connecticut

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

985 inborn infants who would reach 40 weeks post-conceptional age between January 7, 1985 and October 9, 1985 and whose birth weights were less than or equal to 2500g and met criteria related primarily to residence, gestational age, and hospital discharge before recruitment period. (Unhealthy infants were included unless they had an illness so severe as to preclude intervention in the program).

Subjects were categorized into 2 weight groups: >2000g=”heavier” (N=362)and <2000g=”lighter” (N=623). Random assignment to the intervention or follow-up within each group resulted in 220 heavier infants were assigned to follow-up and 142 to intervention. In the lighter group, 388 were assigned to follow-up and 235 to intervention.

Recent Findings in Brief

06/25/97: Infant Health and Development Program: Results at Age 8 Years of Early Intervention for Low-Birth-Weight Premature Infants (JAMA)

Interim Impact Findings:

“At age 8 years, in the entire cohort and in the lighter LBW stratum, the intervention and follow-up only groups were similar on all primary outcomes measures. Differences favoring the intervention group were found within the heavier LBW group: full-scale IQ score (4.4 points higher; p=.007), verbal IQ score (4.2 points higher; p=.01), performance IQ score (3.9 points higher; p=.02), mathematics achievement score (4.8 points higher; p=.04), and receptive vocabulary score (6.7 points higher; p=.001). On a physical functioning subscale, the whole intervention group received less favorable ratings, while the lighter LBW intervention group had lower maternal ratings assessing social limitations caused by behavior.”

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