The Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting increases preventative services while decreasing emergency services for children

TL;DR

A home visiting program for infants and toddlers increases access to preventative healthcare and reduces emergency visits.

Contribution

The study shows that the Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting improves healthcare access and reduces emergency services use.

Findings

Families in the treatment group were more likely to receive and follow up on healthcare referrals.

Children in the treatment group had fewer emergency department visits compared to the control group.

Control group children were more likely to miss well-child visits at 12 months.

Abstract

This study examined the impact of a relationship-based intervention, the Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH-HV), on infant/child referrals and receipt of physical health services.

Using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, participants included community-recruited mother-infant/toddler dyads who were randomized to treatment (IMH-HV) or control. Participant-reported healthcare, related service referrals received, and number of medical visits attended at baseline, 6-, and 12-month were examined.

Families assigned to IMH-HV were more likely to receive (OR = 13.6, p = 0.001) and follow up on referrals (OR = 7.1, p = 0.00), and found them more helpful than the control group (OR = 3.9, p = 0.03). Children in the treatment group received services in the emergency department (ED; 14.7%) less often compared to control group (34.4%). At 12 months, control group children were more likely to miss well-child visits compared to the IMH-HV group.

These results demonstrate that families who receive IMH-HV services increase their access to and utilization of resources to reduce the impact of some of the most harmful social determinants of poor health, developmental, and relational outcomes. Unique components of IMH-HV that might explain this include attending to concrete needs, referrals for medical care, and providing developmental guidance.

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