The Impact on Child Developmental Status at 12 Months of Volunteer Home-Visiting Support
Author
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-10, 10 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-12-04
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
10
Main Subjects
Social Sciences (Multidisciplinary)
Abstract EN
Home-visiting support during pregnancy or soon after the birth of an infant can be advantageous for maternal well-being and infant development.
The best results have been identified when home visitors are professionals, especially nurses, and if a theoretically driven curriculum is followed with fidelity.
Some suggest that disadvantaged families, who may avoid professional services, respond well to support from community volunteers, but there is less evidence about their impact.
This study identified potentially vulnerable mothers during pregnancy in randomly allocated neighbourhoods where local volunteer home-visiting schemes agreed to offer proactive volunteer support and control areas where the local home-visiting schemes did not offer this proactive service.
Taking demographic, child, and family factors into account, there were no significant differences in infant cognitive development at 12 months of age between families who had been supported by a volunteer and those who had not.
Better cognitive development was predicted by less reported parenting stress when infants were 2 months and a more stimulating and responsive home environment at 12 months.
The results suggest that unstructured proactive volunteer support for potentially vulnerable families is not likely to enhance infant development.
Limitations of the cluster-randomised design are discussed.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Barnes, Jacqueline. 2012. The Impact on Child Developmental Status at 12 Months of Volunteer Home-Visiting Support. Child Development Research،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-493888
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Barnes, Jacqueline. The Impact on Child Developmental Status at 12 Months of Volunteer Home-Visiting Support. Child Development Research No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-493888
American Medical Association (AMA)
Barnes, Jacqueline. The Impact on Child Developmental Status at 12 Months of Volunteer Home-Visiting Support. Child Development Research. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-493888
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-493888