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Home visitation programs for at-risk young families. A systematic literature review
J E Drummond1, A E Weir, G M Kysela
1Faculty of Nursing, 3rd Floor Clinical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G3. jane.drummond@ualberta.ca
Background:
This systematic literature review is stimulated by the perceived need of investigator, practice and policy stakeholders for a complete but parsimonious summary of key elements of programs that use home visitation for at-risk young families as the major delivery method.
Objectives:
To describe the program components, practices, outcomes, and reliability of the evaluation approaches.
Methods:
Computer and hand searches of literature were carried out. Reports of established programs, from the last five years, that describe home visitation services to at-risk families were included. A comprehensive data collection tool was used in the analysis of the findings.
Findings:
Improvements over the previous five years were seen in the following areas: use of early intervention model, inclusion of comparison groups and adequate sampling.
Discussion:
Challenges remain in development, targeting and reporting of home visitation practice, overall lack of impact, differential effects by program site, retention of participants and appropriate measurement.