Nurse-Family Partnership
An Evidence-Based Practice
Description
The Nurse Family Partnership program (formerly known as the Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visitation Program) provides home visits by registered nurses to first-time mothers, beginning during pregnancy and continuing through the child’s second birthday. The home visitors focus on improving maternal health, promoting competent parenting, and enhancing parental life-course development. Home visitors involve family members and friends in the program and help families to use other community health and human services. The program is designed to serve first-time mothers. It is particularly aimed at new mothers who have additional risk factors, such as low socioeconomic status, unmarried, or young (under 19).
Goal / Mission
The program has three primary goals:
1) to improve pregnancy outcomes by promoting health-related behaviors;
2) to improve child health, development and safety by promoting competent care-giving; and
3) to enhance parent life-course development by promoting pregnancy planning, educational achievement, and employment.
The program also has two secondary goals: to enhance families’ material support by providing links with needed health and social services, and to promote supportive relationships among family and friends.
1) to improve pregnancy outcomes by promoting health-related behaviors;
2) to improve child health, development and safety by promoting competent care-giving; and
3) to enhance parent life-course development by promoting pregnancy planning, educational achievement, and employment.
The program also has two secondary goals: to enhance families’ material support by providing links with needed health and social services, and to promote supportive relationships among family and friends.
Impact
Evaluations of the program have shown that women who were visited by nurses had significantly better outcomes than those who did not in terms of measures such as maternal health, maternal life-course development, child health and safety, and adolescent measures of delinquency.
Results / Accomplishments
The program has undergone several randomized studies using large sample sizes (ranging from 400 to 1,189 women) and up to 15 years of longitudinal follow-up. Comparisons between women who were visited by nurses and those who were not demonstrated significant effects from nurse visits on several measures of maternal health, maternal life-course development, child health and safety, and adolescent measures of delinquency.
Studies indicate that the program was most effective for first-time mothers who exhibited multiple risk factors, most commonly being unmarried, young, and of low socioeconomic status. Compared with lower risk women in the program, they were more likely to show increased employment and fewer subsequent births. Their children also showed greater gains; they were less likely to run away from home, they had fewer sexual partners, and they consumed less alcohol.
One randomized trial demonstrated that the program reduced rates of subsequent births, increased the intervals between the births of first and second children, increased the stability of the mothers' relationships with their partners, facilitated children's academic adjustment to elementary school, and reduced childhood mortality from preventable causes.
Studies indicate that the program was most effective for first-time mothers who exhibited multiple risk factors, most commonly being unmarried, young, and of low socioeconomic status. Compared with lower risk women in the program, they were more likely to show increased employment and fewer subsequent births. Their children also showed greater gains; they were less likely to run away from home, they had fewer sexual partners, and they consumed less alcohol.
One randomized trial demonstrated that the program reduced rates of subsequent births, increased the intervals between the births of first and second children, increased the stability of the mothers' relationships with their partners, facilitated children's academic adjustment to elementary school, and reduced childhood mortality from preventable causes.
About this Promising Practice
Organization(s)
Nurse-Family Partnership
Primary Contact
Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office
1900 Grant Street, Suite 400
Denver, CO 80203
303-327-4240
info@nursefamilypartnership.org
http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/
1900 Grant Street, Suite 400
Denver, CO 80203
303-327-4240
info@nursefamilypartnership.org
http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/
Topics
Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health
Health / Women's Health
Health / Family Planning
Health / Women's Health
Health / Family Planning
Organization(s)
Nurse-Family Partnership
Source
Promising Practices Network
Date of publication
Apr 2007
Date of implementation
1977
For more details
http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?prog...
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/...
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/...
Target Audience
Women