Development of an evaluation tool for providers of maternal child health nursing visits

Background: Low-income families need comprehensive services focused on achieving family stability. A non-profit agency in the Northeast seeks to achieve this goal by 1) serving as a safety net, i.e., food pantry, community computer access, teen homework club, 2) providing home visits, i.e., maternal child health(MCH), parent aide and early intervention, and 3) offering educational resources for parents, i.e. parenting classes and father's groups. Methods: Using a two week immersion into the neighborhood and non-profit agency we 1) noted a lack of community resources, schools and businesses and 2) observed the services provided by this agency focused on ensuring a healthy start for Worcester families. We discovered a gap in how services needed by families were identified and worked collaboratively with providers to develop an evaluation tool for MCH nursing visits. Result: Median household income in the agency's neighborhood was $26,795 vs the overall city's median household income of $47,415. The proportion of foreign born residents(24%), single mother homes (13.9%) and non-attainment of high school education (33%) was higher in this neighborhood as well. A 3-visit maternal child health evaluation tool was developed to provide standardization among providers as well as data to evaluate the program/population served. The tool covers maternal/child medical care, social assessment, nutrition, infant care/development, resources provided and referrals made. Conclusions: Home visits are an important resource for the families in this predominately low-income community. Providers of MCH visits will use a care assessment tool; the tool can improve coordination of care and data collection.