Infant Health and Development Program

The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) was a comprehensive early intervention for low-birth-weight (less than or equal to 2,500 grams), premature (less than or equal to 37 weeks) infants designed to reduce the infants’ health and developmental problems. The program was operated in eight medical institutions in Little Rock, Arkansas; New Haven, Connecticut; Miami, Florida; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Bronx, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dallas, Texas; and Seattle, Washington from 1985 to 1988. The IHDP combined early child development and family support services with pediatric follow-up. The program was initiated on infants’ discharge from the neonatal nursery and continued until 36 months of age (child age was corrected for prematurity). The intervention services, provided free to participating families, consisted of three components: home visits, child attendance at a child development center, and parent group meetings. Infants participated in pediatric follow-up, which comprised medical, developmental, and social assessments, with referral for pediatric care and other services as indicated.

The goal of this program was to reduce health and developmental problems for low-birth-weight and premature infants.

The evaluation of the IHDP used rigorous standards, including a randomized experimental design and longitudinal follow-up. At the three-year follow-up mean IQ scores were significantly higher for intervention children than children in the control group, with greatest effect for infants with poorer quality home environments. The intervention group had significant, positive effects on all aspects of cognitive functioning, including vocabulary, receptive language, visual-motor/spatial skills, reasoning, the picture vocabulary test, and the Motor Integration Test. The intervention group also had significantly lower behavioral problem scores than the control group.