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This chapter concerns the outcomes for the families involved in the European Early Promotion Project and presents data collected when the children were between six and eight weeks old and when they were 24 months old. A total of 824 families were recruited from the five countries involved. At baseline, differences were found between country samples in the extent and type of need (Finnish families having the lowest risk factor rates and Serbia the highest, for example), but recruitment was generally successful in including families from the whole range of need, excluding those with the most severe physical and psychiatric problems. Although not randomised, Intervention families (receiving the EEPP service) were reasonably matched with Comparison families (receiving usual services) on most variables initially, except in Greece, where Intervention families were somewhat more at risk. At 24 months, in spite of low intensity of service provision and methodological difficulties likely to reduce effects, there was evidence, particularly in Greece, of differences in outcome favouring the Intervention group, who also showed significantly higher levels of satisfaction with the intervention they had received. It was concluded that the service merits further exploration to assist in understanding promotional and preventative processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter explores the effects of the European Early Promotion project training on primary health care professionals, with regard to their knowledge, self-efficacy and ability to identify need in families, and to their satisfaction with the training received. A quasi-experimental group comparison design was developed, in which an Intervention and a Comparison group were assessed twice: the Intervention group before and after the special EEPP training and the Comparison at the same time interval but without the training. Overall results show a tendency for the Intervention group to improve in knowledge and perceived self-efficacy, and a significant improvement in their accuracy of need identification in families, compared with the Comparison group. These results were more prominent in Greece, Serbia and the UK than in Finland and Cyprus, whereas training satisfaction was high in all sites. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for early intervention as well as for training PHCPs to conduct preventative and promotional work with families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes the socio-cultural settings and the relevant health care services within which the European Early Promotion Project was conducted, in order to render the interpretation of study results more meaningful and to justify cross-cultural differences. Greece, Cyprus and Serbia are characterised by lower social expenditure, welfare provision and higher poverty rates than the UK and, especially, Finland, the latter having achieved an advanced welfare provision system. Large differences also exist among participating countries in child mental health and primary care services. Finland and the UK have made the biggest advances in promotional work with families, while Greece, Cyprus and Serbia present, to a smaller or larger degree, deficiencies in their health service infrastructure and in their ability to follow social economic and scientific advances in the area of maternal and child well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]