Issues related to delivering an early childhood home-visiting program.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the issues related to delivering an early childhood home visiting program, BabyFirst, from the perspective of public health nurses and lay home visitors (paraprofessionals).


METHODS
This descriptive, qualitative interpretive study had a sample of 24 public health nurses and 14 lay home visitors. One in-depth, semi-structured, audio-taped interview was conducted with each participant. Transcribed data were analyzed using content analysis techniques.


RESULTS
Public health nurses and lay home visitors identified several issues associated specifically with the use of lay home visitors and more broadly with the delivery of the BabyFirst program. These are discussed in the following categories: issues related to (a) the lay home visitors, (b) the BabyFirst families, and (c) the general administration of the program.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings from this study provide information about the issues related to providing home-visiting services delivered by lay home visitors that can be applied to policy and practice development. The findings suggest that in addition to careful selection of prospective applicants, considerable resources should be provided in preparing public health nurses and home visitors for their respective roles. The concerns identified by nurses and home visitors suggest the need to target the following three areas: (a) training and retention of nurses and home visitors, (b) program delivery, and (c) enrollment of families. Attention to the issues discussed in this article has implications for improving the BabyFirst home-visiting program and other similar early childhood programs.
Woodgate
Roberta
R
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Roberta_Woodgate@umanitoba.ca
Heaman
Maureen
M
Chalmers
Karen
K
Brown
Judy
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008350:Manitoba; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D016730:Program Development; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035862:Vulnerable Populations