Background and research question.
Children brought up in families that face a lot of challenges are at an increased risk of bad outcomes in later life. This is to say that the environment into which a child is brought up affects his/her later life either negatively of positively. Therefore it is necessary to devise measures that reduce the risks of these adverse outcomes by controlling the child’s upbringing environment.
Home visiting by trained nurses to assess the child’s growing environment and to guide the family on child rearing has been one of the methods employed to reduce these risks. There are many home visiting programs that have been evaluated. However, the evaluation results are not harmonized with some programs showing benefits
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It reduces the visit to hospital for treatment of unintentional injuries. It also reduces the incidences of harsh punishments from the parents. There is also reduced behavioral problems among children who are visited early. These benefits are sustained over a long period of time.
The early visits on the other show little benefits to the parental behavior. It did not reduce the substance abuse rates, maternal depression or the family’s economic status. This shows that home visiting benefit the children most.
Therefore early home visiting can be used as a strategy to reduce adverse outcomes in children who grow up in challenging environments. The home visits can reduce unintentional injuries at home, child abuse and harsh disciplinary measures. It would also lead to improved parental competence and child behavior. These changes are brought about by mentoring the parents on good parenting during the visits.
Therefore, early home visiting should be integrated in the general health care delivery system, educational system and the behavioral support system. Medical professionals, teachers and psychologist should practice early home visiting in their careers to promote child outcomes. This is so as to support the families with many challenges in the upbringing of