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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Apr 1;10(4):e0120182.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120182. eCollection 2015.

The effect of VoorZorg, the Dutch nurse-family partnership, on child maltreatment and development: a randomized controlled trial

Jamila Mejdoubi  1 , Silvia C C M van den Heijkant  1 , Frank J M van Leerdam  2 , Martijn W Heymans  3 , Alfons Crijnen  4 , Remy A Hirasing  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of VoorZorg, the Dutch nurse-family partnership, on child maltreatment and development: a randomized controlled trial

Jamila Mejdoubi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Child maltreatment is a great public health concern that has long-term mental and physical health consequences and can result in death. We studied the effect of a nurse home visiting program on child maltreatment among young disadvantaged families in The Netherlands. This study is the first to investigate the effects of this program outside of the United States.

Methods: We conducted a single blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial that compared usual care with the nurse home visitation program, which began during pregnancy and continued until the children's second birthdays, in 460 disadvantaged women who were pregnant for the first time and <26 years of age. The primary outcome was the existence of a report about the child from a child protecting services agency (CPS reports). Secondary outcome measures included home environment and child behavior.

Results: Two hundred twenty-three participants were assigned to the control group, and 237 were assigned to the intervention group. Three years after birth, 19% of the children in the control group had a CPS report. The 11 percent of children in the intervention group with CPS files was significantly lower (relative risk 0.91, p-value 0.04). At 24 months, the intervention group scored significantly better on the IT-HOME. At 24 months after birth, the children in the intervention group exhibited a significant improvement in internalizing behavior (relative risk 0.56, p-value 0.04) but no evidence of a difference from the control group in externalizing behavior (relative risk 0.71, p-value 0.12).

Conclusion: The number of CPS reports for the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group. Additionally, the long-term home environments were improved and internalizing behaviors of the children were lower in the intervention group.

Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register NTR854.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart VoorZorg study.
§ When the development of the child is in danger the juvenile court can impose an outplacement of the child. *CPS stands for Child Protective Services; in the Netherlands this organization is called AMK.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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