Child-focused single home visiting

Area of Science:

• Public Health Nursing
• Maternal-Child Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Home visiting is a crucial public health nursing process lacking a robust theoretical foundation.
• Existing models of home visiting require expansion and refinement to better guide practice.
• Maternal-child health services heavily rely on effective home visiting strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To expand and refine a preliminary theoretical model of home visiting.
• To identify and describe the phases and patterns of child-focused home visiting.
• To explore factors influencing the home visiting process and its consequences.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative, stylized field research investigation was conducted.
• Data were collected through observation and interaction with one nurse in a visiting nurse association.
• Social exchange theory was employed to analyze the process and outcomes.

Main Results:

• A child-focused home visiting model emerged, detailing phases from "surveying and designating" to "ending the visit."
• "Haunting and telling" was identified as a distinct phase in certain visits.
• Factors influencing maternal-child home visiting and potential consequences (maternal, child, interactive, environmental) were identified.

Conclusions:

• The refined model provides a theoretical structure for understanding and improving child-focused home visiting.
• Social exchange theory effectively explains the initiation, maintenance, and termination of the home visiting process.
• The study highlights the complexity of home visiting and its impact on maternal and child outcomes.