TY - JOUR
T1 - Child and family outcomes of a long-term nurse home visitation programme : a randomised controlled trial
AU - Kemp, Lynn
AU - Harris, Elizabeth
AU - McMahon, Catherine
AU - Matthey, Stephen
AU - Vimpani, Graham
AU - Anderson, Teresa
AU - Schmied, Virginia
AU - Aslam, Henna
AU - Zapart, Siggi
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a long-term nurse home visiting programme, embedded within a universal child health system, on the health, development and well-being of the child, mother and family. A randomised controlled trial was conducted, with participants including 208 (111 intervention, 97 comparison) eligible at-risk mothers living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area in Sydney, booking into the local public hospital for confinement. The trial consisted of a sustained and structured nurse home visiting antenatal and postnatal parenting education and support programme, with the main outcome measures being the quality of the home environment for child development (12-24 months), parent-child interaction and child mental, psychomotor and behavioural development at 18 months. Mothers receiving the intervention were more emotionally and verbally responsive (HOME observation) during the first 2 years of their child's life than comparison group mothers (mean difference 0.5; 95% CI 0.1 to 0.9). Duration of breastfeeding was longer for intervention mothers than comparison mothers (mean difference 7.9 weeks; 95% CI 2.9 to 12.9). There was no significant difference in parent-child interaction between the intervention and comparison groups. There were no significant overall group differences in child mental, psychomotor or behavioural development. Mothers assessed antenatally as having psychosocial distress benefitted from the intervention across a number of areas. This sustained nurse home visiting programme showed trends to enhanced outcomes in many, but not all, areas. Specifically, it resulted in clinically enhanced outcomes in breastfeeding duration and, for some subgroups of mothers, women's experience of motherhood and children's mental development.
AB - The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a long-term nurse home visiting programme, embedded within a universal child health system, on the health, development and well-being of the child, mother and family. A randomised controlled trial was conducted, with participants including 208 (111 intervention, 97 comparison) eligible at-risk mothers living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area in Sydney, booking into the local public hospital for confinement. The trial consisted of a sustained and structured nurse home visiting antenatal and postnatal parenting education and support programme, with the main outcome measures being the quality of the home environment for child development (12-24 months), parent-child interaction and child mental, psychomotor and behavioural development at 18 months. Mothers receiving the intervention were more emotionally and verbally responsive (HOME observation) during the first 2 years of their child's life than comparison group mothers (mean difference 0.5; 95% CI 0.1 to 0.9). Duration of breastfeeding was longer for intervention mothers than comparison mothers (mean difference 7.9 weeks; 95% CI 2.9 to 12.9). There was no significant difference in parent-child interaction between the intervention and comparison groups. There were no significant overall group differences in child mental, psychomotor or behavioural development. Mothers assessed antenatally as having psychosocial distress benefitted from the intervention across a number of areas. This sustained nurse home visiting programme showed trends to enhanced outcomes in many, but not all, areas. Specifically, it resulted in clinically enhanced outcomes in breastfeeding duration and, for some subgroups of mothers, women's experience of motherhood and children's mental development.
KW - breastfeeding
KW - child development
KW - home nursing
KW - parent and child
KW - parenting
KW - postnatal care
KW - visiting nurses
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/525637
U2 - 10.1136/adc.2010.196279
DO - 10.1136/adc.2010.196279
M3 - Article
SN - 0003-9888
VL - 96
SP - 533
EP - 540
JO - Archives of Disease in Childhood
JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood
IS - 6
ER -