Community program to prevent child abuse
Official title: Community Prevention of Child Maltreatment
Funded at Duke University · NIH-11311873 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program offers trained navigators and short-term nurse home visits to pregnant people and families with newborns to connect them with local supports that help children thrive.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2012 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $760,190 |
| NIH project number | 5R37HD069981-14 |
| Project ID | NIH-11311873 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people and families with newborns and young children in the Durham, North Carolina area who are willing to receive home visits and navigation help are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Families who live outside the program area, already receive intensive home-visiting services, or whose needs cannot be met by local resources may not gain benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If you join, a trained navigator will contact you during pregnancy, continue with a nurse home visit after your baby is born, and offer follow-up visits at 12, 24, and 36 months. The team will ask about your family's needs, provide brief support, and help you get services like mental health care, parenting help, or housing assistance. In Durham, 800 families were randomly assigned so some receive this Community Navigation program and others receive usual care, and researchers track outcomes like parent well-being, child development, and child safety. The program builds on an existing newborn home-visiting model but extends support across early childhood.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower rates of child abuse investigations, improve parental well-being, and help children reach healthier developmental milestones.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier randomized trials of the Family Connects program showed better maternal mental health and fewer child abuse investigations, though long-term child behavior effects were limited, and this program expands that approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dodge, Kenneth a — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Dodge, Kenneth a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.