Effects of continuous nurse home visits on the parenting practices of pregnant females and mothers with infants or preschool children: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Forfatter(e)
- Yamamoto, A., Hirano, M., Takizawa, H., Honda, H.
- År
- 2026
- Tidsskrift
- Japan Journal of Nursing Science: JJNS
- Volum
- 23
- Sider
- e70051
- Kategori(er)
- Samspill og tilknytning
- Tiltakstype(r)
- Tiltak rettet mot gravide og barselkvinner Hjemmebaserte tjenester
- Abstract
AIM
This study aimed to examine whether home visits by nurses improve the parenting practices of pregnant and postpartum females through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS
We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Ichushi for randomized controlled trials of regular home visits by nurses or midwives during pregnancy or before the child entered school, published up to March 2023. The primary outcomes were: (1) positive parenting behaviors; (2) negative parenting behaviors; (3) parental confidence; (4) child-parent relationships; and (5) parent-child closeness. We performed random-effects meta-analyses and applied risk of bias assessment and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation)-based evaluation frameworks. The study has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD 42024527084).
RESULTS
In total, 1879 articles were screened and eight were included in analyses. The eight articles involved five home visit projects targeting high-risk females and one focused on the general population. Moderate certainty of evidence indicated that nurse home visits increased positive parenting behavior (SMD = 0.16, 95% CI [0.07; 0.26]), decreased negative parenting behavior (SMD = -0.11, 95% CI [-0.21; -0.01]), and had no significant effect on parental confidence (SMD = 0.26, 95% CI [-0.12; 0.64]). No significant intervention effects were observed for child-parent relationships or parent-child closeness, with weak certainty of evidence based on a single article.
CONCLUSIONS
Home visits by nurses and midwives increased positive parenting behaviors and decreased negative behaviors. These findings suggest that regular home-visit interventions by nurses are effective in improving the child-rearing behaviors of pregnant and postpartum females.