Impact of the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) on the Home Environments of Infants Born Prematurely and With Low Birthweight

The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) was designed to improve the development of infants born prematurely and at low birthweight with a combination of (a) education and support services for mothers, and (b) educational day care and health services for children. A randomized clinical trial procedure was used at 8 program sites to examine the impact of the IHDP on the quality of stimulation and support available to children in the home, as measured by the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. There were no effects on HOME scores at 1 year, but differences favoring the intervention group were noted on 5 of 8 HOME subscales at 3 years. Separate factor analyses of the HOME Inventory revealed that intervention and follow-up groups had similar underlying structures at both time points. The effects of the intervention on child outcomes may be mediated through the home environment.