Home Visiting and Use of Infant Health Care Paper Example

Kilburn, M. R., & Cannon, J. S. (2017). Home visiting and use of infant health care: a randomized clinical trial. Pediatrics, 139(1), e20161274. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/139/1/e20161274

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Brief Overview of How the Results were Obtained

The results in this article were obtained through a randomized controlled trial of intensive home visiting programs, which are delivered in the primary caregiver homes and first-born children. Control groups were studied for the study. First-Born Program participants comprised of mothers who are allowed to enroll from pregnancy up to the second month of the child. The program would end when the child reaches three years of age. The program staff contacted different families to confirm their interest in their eligibility to join the program. A 1-year interview was conducted with 140 families involved as participants in each treatment and control groups (Kilburn & Cannon, 2017). Only the children who were born before the first day of November 2013 were included in the study since the program staff expected these children to receive similar First-Born Program services in the first year of their development. The families interviewed had children between twelve and fifteen months. The final interview was conducted in December 2014. Based on the data obtained from the Department of Health of New Mexico, it was estimated that 1400 first-born children are eligible for the program during the eligibility period of the study (Kilburn & Cannon, 2017).

The Best Practice

In the article, the best practice is a randomized clinical trial of home visiting programs for first-time parents. In essence, it was evident that when children participate in the First-Born Program were less likely to visit the emergency department in hospitals, as well as primary care visits. However, it did not establish the effects of participation in the program on hospitalizations and injuries that may require medical attention. In most cases, home visiting programs tend to target high-risk families as these families benefit more from the services. However, lower risk families also benefit from such programs. The families in the control groups were treated hence showing large impacts of the treatment on children. As such, the nurses would understand the needs of children in their early stages of development without the need to reach hospitals or emergency departments. The parents would also provide reports on the health of their children (Kilburn & Cannon, 2017). Importantly, the nurses understand a range of aspects of different families like adverse childhood experiences of the mothers, gender of the children, the age of the mother when the child was born, educational status of the mothers, income, as well as marriage status of such families. In this manner, it becomes easy to establish the differential effects of the characteristics of family backgrounds.

Whether the Research Findings Supported the Conclusions and the Best Practice

The research findings in this article supported conclusions, and best practice brought forth for pediatric care. The findings show that the evaluation is useful since different nations like New Mexico continue their expansion of home visiting services to families and children. The findings identify First-Born programs that are feasible and effective for implementation in the nursing practice. It is evident from the program that the medical contact between children and emergency departments in the first year reduced substantially (Kilburn & Cannon, 2017). From the results, it is possible to prevent the costs of health care that might be incurred. The staffing model used does not rely exclusively on the nurses, which may be scarce in particular locations. Such costs may be higher compared to those of the parent educators who visit homes.