Evaluation of the Preparing for Life Programme: An Update

1
Evaluation of the Preparing for Life Programme
An Update
Kelly McNamara

• PFL Scientific Advisory Team
• Colm Harmon James Heckman Cecily Kelleher
  Sharon Ramey Richard Tremblay

PFL Research Team Orla Doyle Olivia Joyner
Louise McEntee Kelly McNamara Sarah Thompson
2
Health, Behaviour and Preparing for Life

• Overview of PFL programme
• Update on the past 7 months
• Other components to the PFL evaluation
• Process Evaluation
• Service Delivery
• School Readiness Survey

3
The Northside Area

• Community-led initiative operated by Northside
  Partnership in North Dublin
• Designated Disadvantaged Community
• Population of 6,439
• 7 born outside Ireland
• 63 social housing
• 5 of adults with 3rd level education
• 14 of adults out of work

4
The PFL Programme

• First experimental early childhood intervention
  in Ireland
• Intervention type School Readiness programme
• Cognitive development
• Physical health and motor skills
• Social, emotional behavioural development
• Approaches to learning
• Language development and literacy
• Lack of school readiness linked to lower
  education, higher teen pregnancy, unemployment,
  crime
• Aim Help parents develop skills to help their
  children
• Intervention length Pre-birth - 5 years

5
Sample Recruitment

• Target group
• Cohort of pregnant women residing in three
  communities of North Dublin
• PFL Sample 200 births
• Approximately 100 births per year
• Recruitment
• Maternity hospital at first booking visit and
  self-referral in the community
• 2006/07 Birth Sample
• 80.23 unmarried mothers 6 travellers average
  mothers age 27 years 9 age 18 or under 42
  with first birth

6
2 Teams Involved in PFL

• PFL Team
• Based in Darndale
• Mentors, information officer
• Responsible for delivering the intervention
• UCD Team
• Based in Geary
• Research staff
• Responsible for evaluating the intervention

7
PFL Evaluation

• 4 Components
• Impact Evaluation
• Process Evaluation
• Service Delivery
• Annual School Readiness Survey

8
Impact Evaluation Longitudinal Experimental
Study
9
Impact Evaluation Quantitative Assessments

• Data collection time points
• Pre-intervention (baseline), 6mths, 12mths,
  18mths, 24mths, 3yrs, 4yrs, 5yrs
• Informant
• Mother is the primary informant, but also
  fathers, child, other independent data sources if
  possible

10
January to July, 2008Implementation Phase

• Recruiting Participants
• Piloting and Conducting Online Survey
• Identifying Matched Community Sample
• Designing 6-month Survey
• European Network of Early Childhood Interventions
  (ENECI)

11
Recruitment

• Both PFL and UCD teams involved
• Self-referral in community
• First hospital booking visit
• Must be less than 27 weeks pregnant

12
Recruitment
13
Recruitment
14
Baseline Survey

• The baseline survey is divided into ten modules
  which correspond to
• You and your family (demographics, household
  comp., education)
• Your pregnancy (planning, prenatal care, previous
  pregnancies)
• How are you doing? (well-being, self-esteem,
  attachment style)
• Your health (mental and physical health, use of
  health services)
• Your personality (personality, future
  consequences)
• Planning for you baby (intention to breastfeed,
  use childcare)
• Thoughts about parenting (risk of abuse, KIDI)
• Your work and finances (work status, income, use
  of services)
• Your social support network (support,
  neighbourhood satisfaction)
• Hopes and dreams (hopes and dreams for baby,
  family strengths and difficulties)

15
Baseline Survey

• Piloting
• To PFL pilot moms
• Computerisation phase
• Conducting
• With moms in community (25 so far!)
• CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviews)
• WASI Assessment

16
Baseline Survey
17
Identifying Matched Community Sample

• Need to choose another community with a similar
  socio-economic profile to PFL community
• Data from Small Area Population Statistics
  (Census 2006) use hierarchical cluster analysis
  on all electoral districts in Dublin to rank
  degree of similarity

18
6 month survey

• Parental characteristics (socio-economic profile,
  parent health, psychological well-being, health
  behaviours, family system, stress, separation
  anxiety)
• Child characteristics (demographics, health,
  nutrition, rest and routine, development,
  temperament)
• Parenting system (parental teamwork, parenting
  beliefs parenting style, father involvement)
• Community supports (social support network,
  extended family, child care, health and social
  services)
• Siblings (adjustment to baby, behaviour problems)

19
European Network of Early Childhood Interventions
(ENECI)

• Aims of ENECI
• to develop collaborations between network members
  
• to share practices (methodology, evaluation) and
  make them available to the scientific community
  and practitioners
• to enhance the comparability of the different
  projects
• to provide recommendations on the optimal
  delivery and timing of ECI
• to provide help and support for new emerging ECI
  projects
• Current Network Members
• Ireland - Preparing for Life Intervention
• France CAPEDP Intervention
• Italy Scommettiamo sui giovani
• Website www.eneci.org

20
Conclusion

• Impact Evaluation
• Determine effectiveness of PFL in achieving its
  primary aim
• Process Evaluation
• Determine why PFL did or did not achieve its
  primary aim

21
(No Transcript)