Costs and effectiveness of community postnatal support workers

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7281.301

BMJ 2001;322:301 ( 3 February )

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Costs and effectiveness of community postnatal support workers

Researchers must now focus on effectiveness with specific groups of women

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Researchers must now focus on effectiveness with specific groups of women

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Evaluation of the effectiveness of home visiting programmes in the United Kingdom, as in Morrell et al's study, ismuch needed.¹ Several systematic reviews of the effectivenessof these programmes have indicated that their success dependson the population selected, the extent to which the skills ofthe staff have been matched to the needs of the family, and theduration of the programme.² The disappointing results of Morrellet al's trial might well be understood in terms of the first twoof these factors inparticular.

Perhaps most importantly, there is evidence of differential effects of home visiting programmes in subgroups of individuals.Several studies have shown that support of this nature that isoffered to mothers who are already coping, or to mothers who arenot experiencing adversity, can not only fail to produce positiveoutcomes but also lead to regression.³ One to one home visiting. . . [Full text of this article]

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Costs and effectiveness of community postnatal support workers: randomised controlled trial: C Jane Morrell, Helen Spiby, P Stewart, S Walters, and A Morgan
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