The Impact of Learning Music-Based Strategies on Caregiver Stress Levels and Caregiver/Infant Social-Emotional Competence: Demonstrating Feasibility Among At-Risk Families in Rural Appalachia
To support a feasibility study examining the impact of music-based learning activities on at-risk caregivers and their infants in rural Appalachia. Researchers will work with the healthcare facility Help Me Grow, serving caregivers of infants who have been identified as at-risk due to trauma, exposure to substance abuse, and economic disadvantage. Project activities include: developing and implementing an eight-week music-based online curriculum for at-home healthcare providers to teach caregivers; measuring the curriculum's impact; and providing community arts-based support for the program participants. Effects of the program will be assessed via the stress hormone cortisol and through surveys on caregiver stress and children's social-emotional behaviors.