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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2006.089532v1 97/10/1813    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Neuhauser, L. Articles by Syme, S. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Neuhauser, L. Articles by Syme, S. L. Related Collections Pregnancy Other Maternal and Infant Health Other Child and Adolescent Health

Linda Neuhauser, DrPH, Wendy L. Constantine, BA, Norman A. Constantine, PhD, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, MD, MPH, Susan K. Obarski, MA, Lacy Clayton, MA, Mona Desai, MPH, Gerald Sumner, PhD and S. Leonard Syme, PhD

Linda Neuhauser, Norman A. Constantine, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, and S. Leonard Syme are with Community Health and Human Development, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Wendy L. Constantine is with Research and Evaluation Systems, Layfayette, Calif. Susan K. Obarski is with Obarski Consulting, Los Angeles, Calif. At the time of the study, Lacy Clayton and Mona Desai were with Community Health and Human Development, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, and Gerald Sumner was with the Institute for Social Science Research, University of California, Los Angeles.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints may be sent to Linda Neuhauser, DrPH, Community Health and Human Development Division, School of Public Health, 50 University Hall, MC7360, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 (e-mail: lindan{at}berkeley.edu).

Objectives. There is a critical need for effective, large-scale health communication programs to support parents of children aged 0–5 years. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Kit for New Parents, a multimedia health and parenting resource now distributed annually to 500000 parents in California.

Methods. In this quasi-experimental study, 462 mothers in the intervention group and 1011 mothers in the comparison group, recruited from prenatal and postnatal programs, completed a baseline interview about health-relevant parenting knowledge, and mothers in the intervention group received the kit. Both groups were reinterviewed 2 months later. At 14-months postbaseline, 350 mothers in the intervention group and a sample of 414 mothers who had equivalent demographic characteristics (comparison group) were interviewed about parenting knowledge and practices.

Results. Of the mothers in the intervention group, 87% reported using the kit within 2 months after receiving it, and 53% had shared it with their partner. At both follow-ups, mothers in the intervention group showed greater gains in knowledge and reported better practices at 14 months than did mothers in the comparison group. Gains were greater for prenatal recipients and for Spanish speakers. Providers considered the kit a valuable resource for their parenting programs.

Conclusions. The kit is an effective, low-cost, statewide health intervention for parents.