Home visiting programs play a critical role in helping families strengthen parenting skills, nurture parent-child relationships, and promote healthy child growth and development. Studies show that home visiting programs are successful in improving maternal and child outcomes related to birth weight, cognitive development, and child abuse and neglect, among others. Home visiting programs are also well-positioned to address outcomes related to parent and child nutrition.[1] However, while many home visiting programs provide some nutrition-related support, few have targeted this issue comprehensively, representing a promising area for future program development.
Conceptual Framework
To learn more about how home visiting programs approach talking to families about nutrition, we conducted a literature scan and talked with members of the home visiting community—including parents and home visiting program staff—about their experiences.[2] We learned home visiting programs’ efforts to improve nutrition-related health outcomes align with the field’s overall two-generation approach in reaching both parents and children. We also learned that nutrition-related activities and intended outcomes in home visiting vary by children’s life stages because families’ needs evolve over pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood.
Below, we present a conceptual framework that visualizes inputs, activities, and intended outcomes of home visiting’s work focused on nutrition.[3] The framework also identifies contextual factors that inform these efforts. We then elaborate on each component of the framework, highlighting insights from families and home visiting program staff and spotlighting relevant research.
What is home visiting?
Home visiting is a voluntary support for parents during pregnancy and early childhood. During home visits, trained professionals come to families’ homes and offer a range of services that are tailored to families’ needs. Services include, for example, education and support about prenatal and early childhood care and development, health screenings and referrals, connections to needed community services, and supports around family economic well-being.
