Family home visiting outcomes for Latina mothers with and without mental health problems

Objective: To evaluate outcomes of a public health nursing family home visiting (FHV) intervention for Latina mothers with and without mental health problems. Design and Sample: Retrospective cohort analysis of de-identified FHV data. Latina clients served by public health nurses (PHNS) in an urban Midwest public health agency (2007-2010). Of the 680 clients there were 158 with mental health problems (n = 30, 14-17 year olds; n = 128, 18-52 year olds) and 522 without mental health problems (n = 100, 14-17 year olds; n = 422, 18-52 year olds). Measures: Client age, number of problems, number of visits, length of service, presence of mental health problem, and Omaha System knowledge, behavior, and status scores for all client problems. Analysis included general linear mixed models adjusted for co-variables (i.e., age, comorbidities). Results: All groups improved knowledge, behavior, and status. Knowledge improvement was not significantly different across groups. Behavior improved more among adults with mental health problems (p = .013). Status improved more among adolescents with mental health problems (p = .012). Conclusions: Latina mothers, particularly those with mental health problems, improve after PHN FHV services. Further study should examine intervention patterns associated with these outcomes, and seek explanations for differences in outcomes.