Impact Evaluation of MotherWise Program

Parenting Clinical Trial

Official title:

Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services - Impact Evaluation of MotherWise Program

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02792309
• Other study ID #: MPR-50098-UD
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 2016
• Est. completion date: September 2021

Study information

• Verified date: February 2022
• Source: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Mathematica was awarded a contract by ACF to conduct the evaluation of selected grantees offering Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Programs.This particular evaluation will focus on the University of Denver's MotherWise program, which offers relationship education and other supports to low-income women expecting a baby. The program has three core components: (1) 18 hours of core workshop sessions using the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum supplemented with content on mother-infant relationships; (2) case management services; and (3) optional relationship education workshops for couples. The evaluation will test the effect of this full package of services on mothers' relationship outcomes, as well as other outcomes related to child well-being, such as co-parenting and father involvement.

Description:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is conducting an evaluation of healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programs. Mathematica was awarded a contract by ACF to conduct the evaluation of selected programs/grantees.This segment of the larger evaluation will focus on the University of Denver's MotherWise program.

The Mother Wise program will offer relationship education and other supports to low-income women expecting a baby. The program will have three core components: (1) 18 hours of core workshop sessions using the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum supplemented with content on mother-infant relationships; (2) case management services; and (3) optional relationship education workshops for couples. The evaluation will test the effect of this full package of services on mothers' relationship outcomes, as well as other outcomes related to child well-being, such as co-parenting and father involvement. If feasible, the evaluation will also examine some measures available through hospital records, such as birth weight.

Mother Wise will enroll women who are expecting a baby and those who have had a baby within the past month.

Control group members will not be eligible for Mother Wise but will be eligible for other services available in the community.

To document the outcomes of study participants, survey data will be collected at two time points: (1) a baseline survey administered at study enrollment, a (2) a 12-month follow-up survey, and (3) a 30-month follow-up survey. Surveys will be conducted by staff at Mathematica's Survey Operations Center using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). Survey data may be supplemented with administrative records data from the Denver Health system.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 953
• Est. completion date: September 2021
• Est. primary completion date: September 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible, women must be expecting a baby or had a baby in the past 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

To be eligible, women must not be incarcerated.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Family Relations
• Marriage
• Mother-Child Relations
• Parenting

Intervention

Behavioral:
• MotherWise Program
Healthy Marriage or Relationship Education services for pregnant women.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Denver	Denver	Colorado

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.	Department of Health and Human Services

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Perceived romantic relationship skills	Six-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Perceived romantic relationship skills	Six-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Perceived conflict management skills	Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Perceived conflict management skills	Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Support for going slow in romantic relationships	One-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Support for going slow in romantic relationships	One-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Disapproval of couple violence	Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Disapproval of couple violence	Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Any psychological abuse	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has subjected her to psychological abuse in the past year.	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Any psychological abuse	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has subjected her to psychological abuse in the past year.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Any physical abuse	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has pushed, shoved, kicked, punched or beaten her up in the past year.	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Any physical abuse	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has pushed, shoved, kicked, punched or beaten her up in the past year.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Had an unintended pregnancy since program enrollment	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother reported having had an unintended pregnancy since random assignment.	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Had an unintended pregnancy since program enrollment	A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother reported having had an unintended pregnancy since random assignment.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Quality of co-parenting relationship with baby's father	Ten-item scale (ranges from 0 to 10)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Quality of co-parenting relationship with baby's father	Ten-item scale (ranges from 0 to 10)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Depressive symptoms	Eight-item scale (ranges from 0 to 24; based on PHQ-8)	1 year after random assignment
Primary	Depressive symptoms	Eight-item scale (ranges from 0 to 24; based on PHQ-8)	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Number of relationship transitions	This is a continuous variable representing the number of relationship transitions the mother reported since random assignment. A relationship transition occurs each time a romantic relationship begins or ends.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Material hardship	This continuous variable ranges from 0 to 6 and reflects how many of six possible things a mother had done in the past year because she did not have enough money.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Child social-emotional and behavioral problems	This 31-item scale is a measure of the child's social-emotional and behavioral problems with higher scores indicating more problems.	30 months after random assignment
Primary	Child social-emotional abilities	This 11-item scale is a measure of the child's social-emotional abilities-such as empathy, prosocial behaviors, and compliance-with higher scores indicating higher competence.	30 months after random assignment