Immigrant Health through the Lens of Home Visitors, Supervisors, and Administrators: The Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program

Abstract

Home visitors in the Florida MIECHV program served as trusted confidants that helped families navigate social services. Future research should focus on the impact that home visiting has on immigrant health and whether this impact is maintained over time.

Covid-19 and pathways to health inequities for families in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area of Sweden – qualitative analysis of home visitors’ observations

“…The pathway of Restricted access to resources in our study was connected to education level, but it also included other groups such as those families who have recently arrived in the country, or those who may have high education but do not speak Swedish. Similar findings are presented in a study of home visiting families’ needs and challenges from the United States [ 37 ] where the focus was on immigrant populations, indicating that this pathway is of higher relevance in communities with higher levels of migrants. The authors found that language, social and physical isolation, economic hardship, citizenship status and mistrust of formal systems acted as barriers to access to healthcare and social services [ 37 ].…”

“…Similar findings are presented in a study of home visiting families’ needs and challenges from the United States [ 37 ] where the focus was on immigrant populations, indicating that this pathway is of higher relevance in communities with higher levels of migrants. The authors found that language, social and physical isolation, economic hardship, citizenship status and mistrust of formal systems acted as barriers to access to healthcare and social services [ 37 ]. While the elements are very similar to the ones found in our study, the organization of the pathways differed.…”

“…By presenting channels for social networking and offering psychosocial support when there is need, the parental advisor has a key role in reaching the isolated parents that may otherwise be invisible to society [ 21 ]. The importance of home visiting in engaging families that may be “hard to reach” by other services has been noted by other studies [ 37 , 41 , 42 ] as well as the negative impact on health equity when ECD services are unsuccessful in this endeavour [ 43 ]. These arguments, again, reinforce the importance of not “losing” the already socially isolated families due to interrupted preventive ECD services during the pandemic.…”

Public health nurses’ experiences of using interpreters when meeting with Arabic‐speaking first‐time mothers

“…In the absence of interpreters, the patient is disadvantaged and cannot receive the correct information (Hadziabdic & Hjelm, ). The public health nurses should be culturally competent (Jean‐Baptiste et al., ; Riner, ) and focus on the health and well‐being of the child, regardless of their ethnic background. To promote the health of the child, good interaction with the parents is needed.…”

Widening the Scope of Social Support: The Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program

“…Home‐visiting programs provide critical social support for families living in high‐risk situations, including mothers who are low‐income, young, pregnant for the first time, or are of ethnic minority or immigrant status, along with parents who are at higher risk of child maltreatment or lacking strong informal support networks (Avellar & Supplee, ; Jack, DiCenso, & Lohfeld, ; Jean‐Baptiste et al., ; Landy et al., ; Paris, ). These are among the risk factors that are identified through a statewide risk screen that is conducted in Florida for every pregnant woman and new mother to streamline referrals to home‐visiting programs (Hardt et al., ).…”