Home Visiting Initiatives: Developing and implementing a new maternal, infant and child health home visitation program for field public health nurses

This presentation will provide an overview of the development and implementation of the Maternal Child Health (MCH) home visitation program for pregnant women and children 0-6 yrs of age. Public Health Nursing would like to strengthen its efforts to meet the needs of our communities and the expectations set forth under the County of San Diego's Health Strategy Agenda and the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Public Health Nursing (PHN) found limited research on evidence-based nurse home visitation programs with the exception of Nurse Family Partnership. Therefore, an MCH Workgroup was established incorporating all levels of Public Health Nursing. Evidence-based, promising and best practice programs related to PHN home visiting were extensively researched. This body of knowledge was incorporated, along with practical experience of the PHNs participating in the workgroup and Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, throughout the new protocols and guidelines. Emphasis is placed on developing the PHNs' ability to build a therapeutic relationship and to enhance the client's self-efficacy. The MCH Workgroup has completed the following activities: revised and implemented MCH protocols and outcomes; identified evidence-based assessment tools and developed a comprehensive database to capture outcomes based on the new protocols. The outcomes will be evaluated and compared to a baseline that was established through a retrospective study. A quarterly meeting was established to evaluate the program's progress and effectiveness and provide ongoing support and training to the MCH PHNs. The workgroup plans to complete the development of home visitation guidelines by the fall of 2012.