A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Well-Child Care: Improved Attendance and Vaccination Timeliness

Abstract

Well-child care has suboptimal outcomes regarding adherence to appointments and recall of guidance, especially among families facing structural barriers to health. Group well-child care (GWCC) aims to improve these outcomes by enhancing anticipatory guidance discussions and peer education. We conducted a randomized controlled trial, comparing GWCC with traditional, individual well-child care (IWCC) and assessed health care utilization, immunization timeliness, recall of anticipatory guidance, and family-centered care. Ninety-seven mother-infant dyads were randomized to GWCC or IWCC. Compared with IWCC infants, GWCC infants attended more of the 6 preventive health visits (5.41 vs 4.87, P