Identification of psychosocially stressed families by practice pediatricians : Results on the effectiveness of the PATH (Pediatric Attention To Help) intervention

In Germany, about a fifth of families with young children live under psychosocially stressful conditions that can threaten the healthy development of the child. In order to improve the referral of these families from pediatric practices to early childhood intervention services ("Frühe Hilfen"), the PATH intervention was developed and implemented in Baden-Württemberg. The first step in the referral process is to identify psychosocially stressed families. This study investigated whether the PATH intervention increases the proportion of identified families with psychosocial stress by pediatricians. In a quasi-experimental study, a total of 293 psychosocially stressed families who were cared for by 29 pediatricians from established pediatric practices were examined. The intervention group (IG) consisted of families with pediatricians from Baden-Württemberg who took part in the PATH intervention. The control group (CG) consisted of families with pediatricians from Bavaria who did not take part in the PATH intervention. Additional qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with 10 pediatricians from the IG and 20 families from the IG with psychosocial stress. A significantly higher proportion of psychosocially stressed families was identified in the IG than in the CG. The difference was about 20 percentage points and was similar regardless of the family's level of stress. The results show that the PATH intervention improves the identification of psychosocially stressed families by pediatricians. This improved identification of psychosocially stressed families is an important prerequisite for referring families to tailored early childhood intervention services such as those provided by the "Frühe Hilfen".