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Nurse Home Visits Prove Advantageous for
At-Risk Mothers
Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York
report mothers with socio-economic risk factors can benefit greatly from a nurse home
visitation program. Harriet Kitzman, R.N., Ph.D., from the University of Rochester, led a
study that analyzed the effects of a home visitation program for at-risk mothers living in
a major city. The study was conducted in Memphis, Tennessee.
The study consisted of women who had at least two
socio-economic risk factors and had no previous live births. Socio-economic risk factors
include being unwed, having less than a high school diploma and being unemployed. After an
average of seven nurse home visits during their pregnancy and 26 visits before the child
turned two- years- old, the researchers found the women had fewer months using government
aid and food stamps, 14 per cent fewer subsequent pregnancies and an increase in time
between the first and second child.
Researchers note this study did not produce results as
significant as did a trial of the same program in a semi-rural setting in Elmira, N.Y. The
Elmira study consisted primarily of white participants. Researchers write, "The
smaller effect of the Memphis program may be due to the social and economic isolation
experienced by many minority families living in inner-city neighborhoods in poverty."
Researchers also analyzed the first three years after the
program was stopped. They found the effects of the program carried over into the next
three years with an exception in the area of subsequent pregnancies. Nurses in this home
visit program helped mothers set goals and find work. They stressed family planning and
helped the women envision a future for themselves and their family. |
