Evaluating the Effects of a Targeted Home Visiting Program on Maternal and Child Health Outcomes

Maternal mental health and social support from online communities during pregnancy*

“…One well‐known intervention to improve maternal well‐being and child development was the Home Visiting Program (HVP) that offered perinatal and parental support to disadvantaged first‐time mothers. It had been implemented in the United States (Olds et al, 2019), the United Kingdom (Robling et al, 2016), Ireland (Doyle et al, 2015) and Germany (Sandner et al, 2018). Sandner et al (2018) suggested that one of the mechanisms behind the success of HVP was compensating the lack of social support during maternity.…”

“…It had been implemented in the United States (Olds et al, 2019), the United Kingdom (Robling et al, 2016), Ireland (Doyle et al, 2015) and Germany (Sandner et al, 2018). Sandner et al (2018) suggested that one of the mechanisms behind the success of HVP was compensating the lack of social support during maternity. Literature also showed that lack of prenatal social support presented a strong risk factor for depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period, as well as the mental health of the next generation (Collins et al, 1993; Elsenbruch et al, 2007; Hodnett & Fredericks, 2003).…”

Treatment Effect Heterogeneity

“…To see the distinction, consider the case where a different policy environment implies different counterfactual outcomes for potential participants in a particular program. As noted in Sandner, Cornelissen, Jungmann, and Herrmann (2018), home visiting programs have large impacts in the United States but smaller (or zero) impacts in Europe, perhaps because the untreated outcomes differ substantially in Europe due to the many other related programs on offer. In this example, the treatment effects fail the structural criterion but not necessarily SUTVA as these programs likely have relatively modest (if any) spillover effects.…”