 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Diane B. McNaughton, PhD, RN1, Julia Muennich Cowell, PhD, RNC, FAAN2, Sarah H. Ailey, PhD, RN3, Louis Fogg, PhD4, and Deborah A. Gross, DNSc, RN2. (1) Department of Community and Mental Health Nursing, Rush University College of Nursing, 600 S. Paulina Street, Suite 1080, Chicago, IL 60612, 312-942-7766, Diane_B_McNaughton@rush.edu, (2) College of Nursing, Community and Mental Health Nursing, Rush University, 600 South Paulina, 1080 Armour Academic Center, Chicago, IL 60612, (3) Community and Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Rush Univeristy, 600 South Paulina, Chicago, IL 60612, (4) Community and Mental Health Nursing, Rush University, 600 South Paulina, Chicago, IL 60612
Determining the amount of nursing contact needed to influence health status is a challenge for nursing. In home visiting, there is a range of nursing dosage provided to families at risk with home visits offered once to multiple home visits over several years. There has not been an emphasis on exploring the amount of nursing contact needed to influence health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to report the relationship between the amount of nursing contact received (dosage), the nurse/client relationship and improvement in mental health and family functioning scores. The sample is Mexican immigrant women (n= 80) enrolled in a home visiting program, the Rush Mexican American Problem Solving (Rush MAPS) Program. In the Rush MAPS program, women choose the amount of nursing contact they receive during a 20 week period. Women received a range of 0 to 12 home visits, with a mean of 6 home visits. Nursing dosage is calculated using the number of home visits delivered and the number of minutes per home visit. Development of the nurse-client relationship is assessed using the Relationship Form (Forchuk & Brown, 1989). Dependent variable measures include the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (mental health) and the Feetham Family Functioning Survey (family functioning). Preliminary findings illustrate how the amount of nursing contact influences change in mental health and family functioning. Determining the amount of nursing contact needed to improve mental health can provide direction for planning future home visiting programs for immigrant women at risk.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Home Visiting, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.