Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41348454›Full record

ArticleJMIR research protocols2025

The Scale-Up of a Digital Health Intervention (Healthy Beginnings for HNEKids) Targeting the First 2000 Days: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Alison L Brown, Nayerra Hudson, Jacklyn Jackson, Jessica Pinfold, Luke Wolfenden, Nicole Nathan, Rebecca Sewter, Sienna Kavalec, Lynda Davies, Sarah Young and 10 more

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR research protocols, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Alison L BrownHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4233-7467
Nayerra HudsonHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0069-1564
Jacklyn JacksonHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7633-0418
Jessica PinfoldHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0006-4308-9430
Luke WolfendenHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6178-3868
Nicole NathanHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7726-1714
Rebecca SewterHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0008-4388-1334
Sienna KavalecSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle Australia, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0003-7605-4646
Lynda DaviesHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2747-5589
Sarah YoungHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0008-8808-1138
Hannah McCormickHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0009-2157-244X
Sonya StanleyHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0001-4691-4735
Tessa DelaneyNSW Ministry of Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2756-4821
Christophe LecathelinaisHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8931-473X
Paul CravenHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0005-5343-0893
Sinead RedmanHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0006-8960-5568
Emma CushingeHealth, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0009-0003-2767-9914
Nguyet de MelloNSW Ministry of Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8077-8888
Karen LeePrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2453-2207
Rachel SutherlandHunter New England Local Health District, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0470-7663

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDigital health interventions, delivered directly to parents' mobile phones, could transform the delivery of health care during the first 2000 days of a child's life. Healthy Beginnings for Hunter New England Kids (HB4HNEKids) is an innovative SMS text message-based model of care that provides age-and-stage relevant preventative health information to parents during the first 2000 days. While HB4HNEKids demonstrates promise for population-wide scale-up, the optimal method for achieving universal, cost-efficient, and equitable scale-up remains unclear.

objectiveThis protocol outlines a randomized controlled trial that evaluates 2 models for scaling up HB4HNEKids: an "opt-in" clinician-initiated model (intervention) and an "opt-out" system-initiated model (control). The trial will assess program reach (the number and proportion of eligible parents receiving HB4HNEKids) and participant representativeness to identify the most effective, equitable, and efficient approach to scaling up care for families during the first 2000 days.

methodsA randomized controlled trial will be conducted in 6 Child and Family Health Service (CFHS) sectors (39 CFHS units) within the Hunter New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The 6 CFHS sectors will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one of 2 arms, stratified by sector location and average number of births per annum. The intervention arm (a clinician-initiated opt-in model of care) will involve a series of implementation support strategies delivered to CFHS staff (ie, training, audit, and feedback) to support clinicians in connecting eligible families to the HB4HNEKids program. The control arm (a system-initiated opt-out model of care) will use existing health service data to identify participants meeting the predefined eligibility criteria to automatically initiate the commencement of HB4HNEKids messages to families (ie, will not require input from CFHS staff). The primary outcome will assess the reach and representativeness of participants receiving HB4HNEKids. Secondary outcomes will include child health behaviors (breastfeeding rates; age of introduction to solids; child fruit, vegetable, and discretionary food intakes; as well as child immunization rates) captured via parent survey, as well as the cost-effectiveness.

resultsThis trial commenced in July 2024, and as of July 2025 enrolled 4212 participants. Data collection (via parent survey) commenced in January 2025 and is projected to end in July 2027.

conclusionsCurrently, little is known about the most effective model of scaling up digital health interventions. This trial will generate novel evidence for informing the effective scale-up of evidence-based health promotion programs that aim to provide universal care, which are needed to maximize the potential population health gains.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12624000655549p; https://tinyurl.com/4krc9za5. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/81390.

Indexed as

Text MessagingDigital HealthFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleParentsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTelemedicinechild healthdigital healthfirst 2000 daysinfant feedingscale-up

Identifiers

PMID41348454
PMCPMC12717509

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.