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Strengthening the evidence base for maternal and child health programs

New: MCH Best strategies database for sample ESMs

Evidence Tools
MCH Best. NPM 7: Child Safety/Injury

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mother and young girl in pajamas holding handsOversight and Regulation of Innovative Programs

MCH Strategy. Provide oversight and regulation of innovative programs such as comprehensive home safety assessments.

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Overview. Legislation and policies that encourage safe behaviors and discourage risky behaviors are important components of injury prevention. Development of a state-wide program such as the home assessment program can be an efficient way to promote injury prevention and safe behaviors.1

Evidence. Moderate Evidence. Policies and legislation that promote safety such as safe driving and school regulations (e.g., concussion management) have been shown to reduce injury rates. Developing policies on regulating home safety assessments or other innovative programs may have a positive effect on overall child safety.2 Access the findings from the environmental scan through the MCH Digital Library. Programs based on this strategy are likely to work. This strategy has been tested more than once and results trend positive overall. (Read more about understanding evidence ratings).

Target Audience. State/National.

Outcome. Injury Prevention and Safe Behaviors. For detailed outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, click on the peer-reviewed evidence link above and read the "Intervention Results" for each study.

Examples from the Field. There are currently 1 ESM across all states/jurisdictions that use this strategy directly or intervention components that align with this strategy. Access description of this ESM through the MCH Digital Library. You can use this ESM to see how other Title V agencies are addressing the NPM.

Sample ESMs. Using the strategy “Provide oversight and regulation of innovative programs such as comprehensive home safety assessments,” here are sample ESMs you can use as a model for your own measures using the Results-Based Accountability framework (for suggestions on how to develop programs to support this strategy, see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies):

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort ("What/how much did we do?")

  • Number of schools that have implemented concussion management program.
  • Number of home assessments conducted that result in the identification of health and safety hazards.

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort ("How well did we do it?")

  • Percent of schools that have implemented concussion management program.
  • Percent of home assessments conducted that result in the identification of health and safety hazards.

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect ("Is anyone better off?")

  • Number of home assessments conducted that result in the identification of health and safety hazards where the family is referred to educational program/support.
  • Number of parents/caregivers/families who report changing a safety practice (e.g., safe storage of medications, baby gates, smoke detectors) because of the home assessment process.

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect ("How are they better off?")

  • Percent of home assessments conducted that result in the identification of health and safety hazards where the family is referred to educational program/support.
  • Percent of parents/caregivers/families who report changing a safety practice (e.g., safe storage of medications, baby gates, smoke detectors) because of the home assessment process.

Note. ESMs become stronger as they move from measuring quantity to measuring quality (moving from Quadrants 1 and 3, respectively, to Quadrants 2 and 4) and from measuring effort to measuring effect (moving from Quadrants 1 and 2, respectively, to Quadrants 3 and 4).

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References:

1Brown, D. W., Anda, R. F., Tiemeier, H., Felitti, V. J., Edwards, V. J., Croft, J. B., & Giles, W. H. (2009). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of premature mortality. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(5), 389-396. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.06.021.

2 Strengthen the Evidence for MCH Programs: Environmental Scan of Strategies -- National Performance Measure #7

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.