NCJ Number
217745
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2007 Pages: 32-46
Date Published
January 2007
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study solicited the perceptions of vulnerable women about the value of intensive home visits during a pregnancy and the first year of their child's life by health visitors trained to work in partnership with families.
Abstract
The study found that despite their initial concerns and negative preconceptions about health and social service professionals, the participating women valued the relationships that were established with their home visitors. They identified a number of ways in which they had benefited from the home-visit services. These benefits included increased confidence that they could manage motherhood, improved mental health, better parenting, improved familial relationships, and changes in their attitudes toward health and social service professionals. These findings show the importance of establishing a trusting relationship between the service provider and the client. Home visitors must be selected and trained for the qualities and skills needed to establish such relationships. The evaluation involved interviews with a representative sample of 20 women who had participated in a randomized controlled trial for the evaluation of the effectiveness of an intensive home visiting program in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The intervention was offered to women who had been identified as being "vulnerable." The women tended to be young and disadvantaged in terms of housing, financial difficulties, social isolation, mental health problems, parenting difficulties, drug or alcohol problems, domestic violence, and a history of child-protection services. The women were interviewed after they had completed the home visiting program. 1 table and 30 references