Manuscript Details

Goldfeld, S., Bryson, H., Mensah, F., Gold, L., Orsini, F., Perlen, S., Price, A., Hiscock, H., Grobler, A., Dakin, P., Bruce, T., Harris, D., & Kemp, L. (2021). Nurse home visiting and maternal mental health: 3-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 147(2), 1–11.

Peer Reviewed

High rating
Study reviewed under: Handbook of Procedures and Standards, Version 2
Study design characteristics contributing to rating
Design Attrition Baseline equivalence Confounding factors? Valid, reliable measures?
Randomized controlled trial Low

Not assessed for randomized controlled trials with low attrition

No

Yes

Notes from the review of this manuscript

Information to demonstrate equivalence of the intervention and comparison groups was based on correspondence with the author. Several findings received a low rating because they do not satisfy HomVEE’s baseline equivalence requirement: the Personal Wellbeing Index; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), Stress scale score; and the self-efficacy scale score. The authors present findings using multiple imputation as well as findings using complete case analysis. The complete case findings were used in HomVEE’s review because the findings using imputation did not meet all requirements under HomVEE standards.

Maternal Health
Outcome Measure Timing of Follow-Up Rating Direction of Effect Effect Size (Absolute Value) Stastical Significance Sample Size Sample Description
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Anxiety Scale (dichotomized, reverse coded) 3 years old High
0.20 Not statistically significant, p= 0.12 488 mothers MECSH vs. comparison, Australia, 2013-2017, full sample
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Anxiety Scale (reverse coded) 3 years old High
0.17 Statistically significant, p= 0.01 488 mothers MECSH vs. comparison, Australia, 2013-2017, full sample
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Depression Scale (dichotomized, reverse coded) 3 years old High
0.31 Statistically significant, p= 0.02 488 mothers MECSH vs. comparison, Australia, 2013-2017, full sample
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Depression Scale (reverse coded) 3 years old High
0.20 Statistically significant, p= <.01 488 mothers MECSH vs. comparison, Australia, 2013-2017, full sample
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Total Score (reverse coded) 3 years old High
0.25 Statistically significant, p= <.01 487 mothers MECSH vs. comparison, Australia, 2013-2017, full sample
Effect rating key
Favorable finding / Statistically significant
Unfavorable finding / Statistically significant
Ambiguous finding / Statistically significant
No effect / Not statistically significant

This study included participants with the following characteristics at enrollment:

Race/Ethnicity

Data not available

Maternal Education

Less than a high school diploma
24%
High school diploma or GED
65%
Bachelor's degree or higher
11%

Other Characteristics

Data not available

This study included participants from the following locations:

  • State not reported or international
International Locations
Australia
Study Participants

Study participants were pregnant women recruited from prenatal clinics in public maternity hospitals across two states in Australia. To be eligible, women had to be at no more than 36 weeks of gestation, have sufficient knowledge of English to complete interviews, have 2 or more risk factors from a list of 10 identified at screening for poor child outcomes, and have home addresses within travel boundaries of the participating areas. A total of 722 pregnant women were randomly assigned to either the home visiting intervention (363 women) or the comparison condition (359 women); 528 women were included in the analyses in this manuscript (255 in the intervention group and 240 in the comparison group). Outcomes were measured when children were 3 years old. In the study, 24 percent of mothers did not complete high school, 65 percent completed high school or vocational training, and 11 percent had a university degree.

Setting

The study took place in Victoria and Tasmania in Australia.

Comparison Conditions

Mothers in the comparison group received six to nine consultations with a nurse until the child reached 24 months. The first consultation occurred in families’ homes and other occurred at local centers. The consultations focused on broad-ranging supports for child health and development as well as parental well-being.

Subgroups examined

There were no subgroups reported in this manuscript.

Author Affiliation

The authors are affiliated with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital, the University of Melbourne, the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Western Sydney University, and Deakin University in Australia. Dr. Kemp, a study author, is a developer of the MECSH home visiting program.

Funding Sources

This research was supported by the state governments of Victoria and Tasmania, the Ian Potter Foundation, Sabemo Trust, the Sidney Myer Fund, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, and the National Health and Medical Research Council by Award Number 1079418.