Effects of nurse-home visiting on intimate partner violence and maternal income, mental health and self-efficacy by 24 months postpartum: a randomised controlled trial (British Columbia Healthy Connections Project).

Objective: To evaluate the impact of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a home-visiting programme, on exploratory maternal outcomes in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Design: Pragmatic, parallel arm, randomised controlled trial conducted October 2013-November 2019. Random allocation of participants (1:1) to comparison (existing services) or NFP (plus existing services).

Effectiveness of nurse-home visiting in improving child and maternal outcomes prenatally to age two years: a randomised controlled trial (British Columbia Healthy Connections Project).

Background: We investigated the effectiveness of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a prenatal-to-age-two-years home-visiting programme, in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods: For this randomised controlled trial, we recruited participants from 26 public health settings who were: <25 years, nulliparous, <28 weeks gestation and experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. We randomly allocated participants (one-to-one; computer-generated) to intervention (NFP plus existing services) or comparison (existing services) groups.

Public Health Nurses' Professional Practices to Prevent, Recognize, and Respond to Suspected Child Maltreatment in Home Visiting: An Interpretive Descriptive Study.

The purpose of this analysis was to understand public health nurses' experiences in preventing and addressing suspected child maltreatment within the context of home visiting. The principles of interpretive description guided study decisions and data were generated from interviews with 47 public health nurses. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Nurse home visiting and prenatal substance use in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population in British Columbia: analysis of prenatal secondary outcomes in an ongoing randomized controlled trial.

Background: Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) involves public health nurses providing frequent home visits from early pregnancy until children reach age 2 years, focusing on first-time parents experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Our aim was to evaluate NFP's effectiveness in improving child and maternal health.

Methods: We conducted an analysis of prenatal secondary outcomes in an ongoing randomized controlled trial in British Columbia; the data used in this analysis were collected from January 2014 to May 2017.

Retaining participants in community-based health research: a case example on standardized planning and reporting.

Background: Effective strategies for participant retention are critical in health research to ensure validity, generalizability and efficient use of resources. Yet standardized guidelines for planning and reporting on retention efforts have been lacking. As with randomized controlled trial (RCT) and systematic review (SR) protocols, retention protocols are an opportunity to improve transparency and rigor.

The British Columbia Healthy Connections Project: findings on socioeconomic disadvantage in early pregnancy.

Background: Maternal exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage increases the risk of child injuries and subsequent child developmental and mental health problems - particularly for young mothers. To inform early intervention planning, this research therefore aimed to describe the health and social adversities experienced by a cohort of girls and young women in early pregnancy in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods: Participants were recruited for the BC Healthy Connections Project (BCHCP), a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of Nurse-Family Partnership, a home visitation program, in improving child and maternal outcomes.

Healthy Foundations Study: a randomised controlled trial to evaluate biological embedding of early-life experiences.

Introduction: Adverse early experiences are associated with long-lasting disruptions in physiology, development and health. These experiences may be 'biologically embedded' into molecular and genomic systems that determine later expressions of vulnerability. Most studies to date have not examined whether preventive interventions can potentially reverse biological embedding.

Improving children's health and development in British Columbia through nurse home visiting: a randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: Nurse-Family Partnership is a nurse home visitation program that aims to improve the lives of young mothers and their children. The program focuses on women who are parenting for the first time and experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Nurse visits start as early in pregnancy as possible and continue until the child reaches age two years.

British Columbia Healthy Connections Project process evaluation: a mixed methods protocol to describe the implementation and delivery of the Nurse-Family Partnership in Canada.

Background: The Nurse-Family Partnership is a home visitation program for first-time, socially and economically disadvantaged mothers. The effectiveness of this public health intervention has been well established in the United States; however, whether the same beneficial outcomes will be obtained within the Canadian context is unknown. As part of the British Columbia Healthy Connections Project, which includes a trial comparing Nurse-Family Partnership's effectiveness with existing services in British Columbia, we are conducting a process evaluation to describe and explain how the intervention is implemented and delivered across five regional Health Authorities.

Mothers' experiences in the Nurse-Family Partnership program: a qualitative case study.

Background: Few studies have explored the experiences of low income mothers participating in nurse home visiting programs. Our study explores and describes mothers' experiences participating in the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) Program, an intensive home visiting program with demonstrated effectiveness, from the time of program entry before 29 weeks gestation until their infant's first birthday.

Methods: A qualitative case study approach was implemented.

The effect of delivery method on breastfeeding initiation from the The Ontario Mother and Infant Study (TOMIS) III.

Objective: To report on the relationship between delivery method (cesarean vs. vaginal) and type (planned vs. unplanned) and breastfeeding initiation in hospital and continuation to 6 weeks postpartum as self-reported by study participants.

Adaptation and implementation of the nurse-family partnership in Canada.

Objectives: International agencies are required to adapt, pilot and then evaluate the effectiveness of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) prior to broad implementation of this public health intervention. The objectives of this qualitative case study were to: 1) determine whether the NFP can be implemented in Canada with fidelity to the US model, and 2) identify the adaptations required to increase the acceptability of the intervention for service providers and families.

Participants: 108 low-income, first-time mothers in Hamilton, Ontario, received the NFP intervention.

Where do young children in specialty care come from?: a preliminary investigation of the role of primary care physicians.

Introduction: Young children with mental health and developmental problems may not receive appropriate or timely interventions. Primary care physicians are well positioned to play an important role in the early identification and referral of such children. The objective of this pilot study was to explore the role primary care physicians played for a group of such children.

Brief report: pilot investigation of service receipt by young children with autistic spectrum disorders.

Whether children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families are receiving recommended assessments and services is poorly known. This pilot study examined service receipt as reported by parents of young children with ASD (n = 64) from four specialty centers in Canada. While almost all children had a speech and language assessment (94%), less than half had psychological (42%), or genetic (31%) testing.

The impact of a new universal postpartum program on breastfeeding outcomes.

The Ontario Mother and Infant Study II examined changes in postpartum health outcomes, including breastfeeding initiation and discontinuation, for mothers and their infants and compared these results to data collected prior to the initiation of the Universal Hospital Stay and Postpartum Home Visiting Program policy change in 1998. Data were collected using cross-sectional surveys before discharge and at 4 weeks postdischarge. Ninety percent of the women surveyed at 4 weeks postpartum initiated breastfeeding.

A cross-sectional study of early identification of postpartum depression: implications for primary care providers from The Ontario Mother & Infant Survey.

Background: This survey's objective was to provide planning information by examining utilization patterns, health outcomes and costs associated with existing practices in the management of postpartum women and their infants. In particular, this paper looks at a subgroup of women who score >or= 12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey (EPDS).

Methods: The design is cross-sectional with follow-up at four weeks after postpartum hospital discharge.