Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Overview of Risk Factors and Prevention
Infant Health and Development Program
The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) also began at birth and continued for several years and was also designed for low-birth-weight and premature infants (McCarton et al., 19972). The intervention was provided until the children reached 3 years of age. It included pediatric care, home visits, parent group meetings, and center-based schooling 5 days a week from 12 months of age to 3 years. At the end of the intervention, the group receiving it had significantly higher mean IQ scores than did the control group. Of note, although children’s behavior problems were not targeted by the intervention, mothers of children in the intervention group reported significantly fewer behavior problems than those in the control group.
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