Oregon Research Institute

A Mobile Web-Based Parenting Intervention to Strengthen Social-Emotional Development of Very Low Birth Weight Infants

This research project will implement a web-based parenting program via mobile technology for mothers with very low weight infants.

Details

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants are at significantly elevated risk for a host of detrimental outcomes including cognitive, language, and social delays and disabilities, which persist into adulthood. An important protective factor for mitigating risk is sensitive and responsive parenting. While evidence-based home visiting interventions exist and were developed specifically for VLBW infants, such as the Play and Learning Strategies program (PALS), parents face major obstacles in obtaining these interventions.

To address the need for more accessible evidence-based interventions, we will overlay the InfantNet program onto the iPhone and rigorously test its effects with 60 low- income mothers and their VLBW infants.