Design, Sites, and Data Sources
MIHOPE-Strong Start, like MIHOPE, will use a random assignment research design, with part of the sample assigned to a home visiting program and part assigned to a control group. The study expands on MIHOPE in several ways:
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MIHOPE is operating in 12 states; MIHOPE-Strong Start will include those 12 states as well as 5 additional states.
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Families recruited for MIHOPE will be expecting a baby or have a child up to 6 months old; MIHOPE-Strong Start is targeting expectant mothers who are up to 32 weeks pregnant and enrolled in Medicaid, given the study’s focus on birth outcomes.
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MIHOPE will assess the effects of the programs on a variety of child and parent outcomes; MIHOPE-Strong Start will focus on prenatal health and birth outcomes.
Data will be collected from multiple sources, including surveys; state Medicaid, CHIP, and vital records databases; and program service records kept by local home visiting programs.
The research team will complete enrollment of families into the study in September 2015. Three annual reports will be produced, followed by a final report. The first annual report was published December 2013 and the second January 2015.