ABQ Times

A research team from the University of New Mexico has secured a three-year grant worth $1.02 million from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The aim is to boost family participation in early childhood home visiting programs across New Mexico.

According to the annual Kids Count report, New Mexico ranks low in areas such as poverty, education, health, safety, and community. Researchers suggest that home visiting can improve maternal and infant health, child development, and family economic self-sufficiency while reducing child maltreatment, juvenile delinquency, and family violence.

Home visiting services are provided by nurses or professionals with expertise in child development. They work with pregnant individuals and families with young children to offer support, conduct developmental screenings, and refer families to necessary resources. Although this service is free for participants in New Mexico, it remains underutilized.

The study funded by the grant will explore ways to enhance recruitment and retention in these programs. It will evaluate the impact of previously distributed cash incentives on participant outcomes and test both cash and non-cash incentives for their potential effectiveness. Additionally, researchers plan to experiment with messaging strategies aimed at reaching pregnant individuals and families with young children to address negative perceptions that may deter enrollment.

Research Professor Theresa Cruz of the UNM Prevention Research Center will lead efforts to assess how cash incentives for peer-to-peer referrals might improve recruitment and retention rates. According to Dr. Cruz, this study "focuses on upstream, primary prevention and social determinants of health." She emphasized that "only a small proportion of those that would benefit from early childhood home visiting receive it."

The findings from this study will be used to formulate recommendations for state agencies and policymakers.

For more information about the Child Health Grand Challenges initiatives, interested parties are encouraged to visit the team's webpage.