RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Health Service Use Among Low-Risk Newborns After Early Discharge With and Without Nurse Home Visiting
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Practice
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 254
OP 260
DO 10.3122/jabfm.9.4.254
VO 9
IS 4
A1 Braveman, Paula
A1 Miller, Carol
A1 Egerter, Susan
A1 Bennett, Trude
A1 English, Paul
A1 Katz, Patricia
A1 Showstack, Jonathan
YR 1996
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/9/4/254.abstract
AB Background: To examine the potential benefits of routine nurse home visiting after early discharge, we compared health service use among low-risk newborns with and without a nurse home visit and telephone follow-up after short hospital stays. Methods: Records of newborns discharged routinely before (n = 83) and after (n = 91) implementation of a universal postpartum home visiting program were reviewed retrospectively. Acute care visits, rehospitalizations, and well-baby visits for newborns up to 74 days of age were compared between the groups. Results: Acute care visits, rehospitalizations, and missed well-baby visits consistently appeared less likely among newborns receiving home visiting services, in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Adjusting for insurance, parity, and breast-feeding, a twofold reduction in acute care visits by 14 days was significant. Although not statistically significant, adjusted analyses of acute care and missed well-baby visits revealed apparently similar patterns at all time intervals. There were too few rehospitalizations for multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of this small retrospective study, the consistency of the findings suggests potentially important benefits of home visiting services after early discharge of low-risk newborns, with substantial implications for clinical and reimbursement policy. Effects could be greater with more vulnerable populations and shorter stays than those in this study.