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- Title
Predictors of acceptance of a postpartum public health nurse home visit: findings from an Ontario survey.
- Authors
Sword WA; Krueger PD; Watt MS; Sword, Wendy A; Krueger, Paul D; Watt, M Susan
- Abstract
<bold>Objectives: </bold>To determine 1) rates of offer and uptake of a home visit provided through Ontario's universal Hospital Stay and Postpartum Home Visiting Program, and 2) predictors of acceptance of a home visit.<bold>Methods: </bold>Women were eligible to participate if they had given birth vaginally to a live singleton infant, were being discharged with the infant to their care, were competent to give consent, and could communicate in one of the four study languages. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from 1,250 women recruited from five hospitals across the province; 890 (71.2%) women completed a structured telephone interview 4 weeks following discharge.<bold>Results: </bold>Most women (81.4% to 97.8%) reported having received a telephone call from a public health nurse, although not necessarily within 48 hours of discharge. While the offer of a home visit reportedly was high across sites, there were statistically significant differences in rates of acceptance (40.8% to 76.2%). Important predictors of acceptance were first live birth, lower social support, lower maternal rating of services in labour and delivery, poorer maternal self-reported health, probable postpartum depression, lower maternal rating of services on the postpartum unit, and breastfeeding initiation.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>The home visiting component of the universal program is reaching most women through telephone follow-up. However, rates of acceptance of a home visit differed greatly across study sites. The findings suggest that it is women with specific problems or needs who are accepting a visit. Further research is necessary to guide the development of evidence-based programs and policies regarding postpartum nurse home visits.
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2006, Vol 97, Issue 3, p191
- ISSN
0008-4263
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1007/bf03405582