Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs

Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.


ACOG Postpartum Toolkit

Often referred to as “The Fourth Trimester,” the weeks after birth are a critical time for a woman and her infant, setting the stage for long-term health and well-being. This comprehensive toolkit, with an introduction by Dr. Haywood Brown, includes extensive resources on the key components of postpartum care, including support for new mothers, reproductive life planning, infant care, counseling for substance use, long-term weight management, and many more pertinent topics. It also features a sample postpartum checklist for women to complete.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Chronic Disease Depression Healthy Weight Immunization Intimate Partner Violence Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Safe Sleep Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Postpartum Visit Reproductive Life Plan Safe Sleep Smoking Abstinence Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from the Field

This toolkit presents a compilation of resources that highlight the challenges and key issues associated with launching and sustaining a successful fatherhood program. It covers topics such as: building an effective fatherhood program,effectively engaging fathers, cultivating community partners, recruiting and training staff, serving fathers with specific barriers, and promoting sustainability. The toolkit provides tips and suggestions from experienced practitioners, activities for use with fathers in one-to-one or group sessions, tools from model programs to use and share with fathers, and other helpful resources.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies and Practices

This technical package represents a select group of evidence-based strategies and approaches to help programs, communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and its consequences across the lifespan. These strategies include teaching safe and healthy relationship skills; engaging influential adults and peers; disrupting the developmental pathways toward IPV; creating protective environments; strengthening economic supports for families; and supporting survivors to increase safety and lessen harms. Commitment, cooperation, and leadership from numerous sectors, including public health, education, justice, health care, social services, business and labor, and government can bring about the successful implementation of this package.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Promundo: Program P: A Manual for Engaging Men in Fatherhood, Caregiving, and Maternal and Child Health

Program P is a resource developed as part of the global MenCare campaign coordinated by Promundo and the Sonke Gender Justice Network. The manual outlines concrete strategies for engaging men in active caregiving from their partner’s pregnancy through their child’s early years, and preventing violence against women and children. It includes tools to aid in creating open spaces for men in the clinic setting, detailed guidance on providing gender-transformative group education for men, and advice on encouraging community mobilization around fatherhood, child protection, maternal and child health and gender equality. It is available in 5 languages.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Changing Systems & Practice to Improve Outcomes for Young Fathers, Their Children & Their Families

This policy report highlights the need to support young fathers by providing recommendations for child welfare system policy and practice change. Research shows that the relationship between fathers and their children is essential to the well-being of families and the healthy development of children, however little attention is paid to the importance of engaging young fathers under age 26, particularly young fathers who are involved with child welfare systems. This report provides recommendations on how systems can better focus on father involvement to increase positive outcomes for fathers, their children and families.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Participant Recruitment and Retention Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

IPV Health Partners Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help health centers to build a comprehensive and sustainable response to domestic violence and sexual assault (DV/SA) in partnership with DV/SA advocacy programs (social service organizations).Through five essential steps, health centers and social service partners can build partnerships, adopt evidence-based interventions, promote patient education around IPV, and enhance practice policies, procedures, and capacities to improve long-term health and safety outcomes for women and their families.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Intimate Partner Violence Patient-centered Medical Home Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.