The European Early Promotion Project: A new primary health care service to promote children's mental health

Abstract

The number of children in Europe with significant psychologic and social problems is large and increasing. This article describes an innovative crosscultural method of working with families to This project has been financially supported by the European Union (Leonardo da Vinci Programme, EL 98/98/1/ 68123/P1/1.1.1.b/FPC), the Ministry of Social Welfare and Health in Finland, the Medical Research Fund of Tampere University Hospital, the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology and the Greek Ministry of Health (Cofunding programme 96SYN103), The Gatsby Charitable Foundation, The South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and the Community Health South London NHS Trust. We should like to thank all the primary health care professionals involved in the project for their commitment and care, all the research staff, and of course the families and children. Direct correspondence to: Kaija Puura, Assistant Chief of Child Psychiatry, Medical School, 33014 University of Tampere, Finland; e-mail: puura@sci.fi. The European Early Promotion Project • 607promote the psychosocial well being of children and prevent the development of psychologic and social problems. A study designed to evaluate the effects of the service is also presented. Primary health care workers in five European countries have been trained to conduct promotional interviews with all prospective mothers in their area one month before and one month after birth. They have also been taught to work with mothers identified as in need of support as a parent by using a specific counselling model to try to prevent the onset of child mental health difficulties. Effects of the intervention on children's psychologic development and family adaptation are being evaluated at two years in comparison with matched groups not receiving the intervention.RESUMEN: El número de niños en Europa con problemas sicológicos y sociales significativos es grande y va en aumento. Este ensayo describe un método innovador e intercultural de trabajar con familias para promover el bienestar sicológico de los niños y prevenir el desarrollo de problemas sicológicos y sociales. También se presenta un estudio diseñado para evaluar los efectos del servicio prestado. Los trabajadores que prestan los servicios de salud esenciales en cinco países europeos han sido entrenados para llevar a cabo entrevistas promocionales con todas las futuras madres en sus áreas un mes antes y un mes después del parto. A ellos se les ha enseñado también a trabajar con madres identificadas como personas con necesidad de apoyo en su papel de madre, por medio de un modelo específico de consejería para tratar de prevenir el comienzo de las dificultades de salud mental del niño. Los efectos de la intervención en el desarrollo sicológico de los niños y la adaptación familiar están siendo evaluados a los dos años en comparación con grupos similares que no están recibiendo tal intervención.RÉ SUMÉ : Le nombre d'enfants en Europe qui ont d'importants problèmes psychologiques et sociaux est élevé et grandit sans ce...

Infant mental health and family support: Contributions of Early Head Start to an integrated model for community‐based early childhood programs

“…There are a small number of published studies of community-based programs employing an IMH approach ͑see, for example, Samartin, Segovia, SchmidtMendez, Campos & Escamilla, 2001;Puura et al, 2002;Petersen, Bair, & Sullivan, 2004͒. Our study complements and expands on the description by Petersen, Bair, and Sullivan of "lessons learned" from the Pathways to Prevention program in two other EHS programs. We add a more detailed analysis of the strategies used and challenges encountered by program staff when applying an IMH approach in a predominantly home-visiting rather than centerbased EHS program.…”

Active Empathic Listening Scale (AELS): Reliability and Validity in a Nationwide Sample of Greek Educators

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