PEDIATRICS· 2026Q1
Pediatric Literacy Promotion for Latino Families by Texts and Referrals: A 3-Arm RCT
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Adding text message reminders to primary care literacy promotion (LP) increased child language scores by 18 months (ES=0.391, P=.001) vs. LP alone, while text messages plus community resource referrals improved social-emotional development (ES=0.267-0.300, P=.03-.04) and verbal responsiveness (ES=0.400, P<.001).
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Adding text message reminders to primary care literacy promotion increased child language scores by 18 months (ES=0.391, P=.001) compared to literacy promotion alone.
- Text messages combined with community resource referrals improved child social-emotional development at 9 months (ES=0.267, P=.04) and 18 months (ES=0.300, P=.03) versus literacy promotion alone.
- The text message plus referral group also showed higher verbal responsiveness at 9 months (ES=0.400, P<.001) compared to the literacy promotion only group.
- The text message only group showed higher reading scores at 9 months (ES=0.415, P=.002) compared to the literacy promotion only group.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To test 2 strategies designed to enhance primary care–based literacy promotion (LP): (1) text message reminders (texts), and (2) texts plus referral to community resources. METHODS We recruited 630 Latino caregiver-infant (aged 6 to 12 months) dyads for an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 1 randomized trial. Dyads were randomly assigned into (1) LP-only (Reach Out and Read), (2) LP plus text messages (LP+texts), or (3) LP+texts plus referral to Connecting New Jersey (CNJ) (LP+texts+CNJ), which streamlines access to community resources based on the national Help Me Grow model. Participants completed online surveys and assessments at enrollment, and 9 and 18 months after enrollment. Primary outcomes focused on 3 domains: child language and social-emotional development, and parenting behaviors, including reading and verbal responsiveness. We followed the intent-to-treat principle and used step-down minimum P value method to adjust for multiple comparisons. RESULTS Among caregivers, 74% had less than or equal to a high school diploma and 88% reported speaking English less than very well. At 18 months after enrollment, the LP+text arm [effect size (ES) = 0.391; adjusted (adj.) P = .001] but not LP+text+CNJ had higher language scores compared with LP-only. At 9 and 18 months after enrollment, the LP plus texts plus CNJ arm had higher scores on social-emotional development than LP-only (ES = 0.267; adj. P = .04 and ES = 0.300; adj. P = .03, respectively), whereas the LP+text arm did not. At 9 months after enrollment, scores were higher for the LP+text+CNJ arm on verbal responsiveness (ES = 0.400; adj. P < .001) and the LP+text arm on reading (ES = 0.415; adj. P = .002) compared with LP-only. CONCLUSION Two strategies with high potential for scale enhanced LP’s ability to promote relational and developmental health. Clinicians and policymakers can use this knowledge to optimize LP’s impact.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. PEDIATRICS, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: General Health Professions
General Health ProfessionsHealth Professions