Family Home Visitors: Increasing Minority Women’s Access to Health Services

Authors

Mechthild Meyer, University of Ottawa
Alma R. Estable, University of Ottawa
Lynne MacLean, University of Ottawa
Wendy E. Peterson, University of Ottawa

Keywords

Family home visitor; Health services accessibility; Home-based family services; Language and medicine; Language barrier; Linguistic minorities – Medical care; Maternal health services; Minority women – Medical care; Postpartum depression; Pre- and postnatal services; Prenatal care; Trust

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Maternal and Child Health | Medicine and Health | Public Health | Public Health Education and Promotion

Abstract

The article describes how service access barriers (language, trust) were addressed at different levels (organization, service provider, community) by involving Family Home Visitors to support Nurse Practitioners in providing pre- and postnatal services to linguis­tic minority women in Ontario. The investigators undertook a secondary analysis of 18 semi-structured interviews with health unit informants, Nurse Practitioners, program us­ers, and community leaders, including Family Home Visitors. Health units facilitated col­laboration between two programs aimed at serving mothers with young children, result­ing in both programs using Family Home Visitors. They enhanced minority women’s trust in Nurse Practitioner services by providing interpretation, outreach and support. Family Home Visitors increased Nurse Practitioners’ community knowledge and insights of the family situation. The findings contribute to our understanding of strategies to overcome language and trust barriers and improve access to programs for isolated women from linguistic minority backgrounds. Family Home Visitors’ role has the potential for being expanded and deserves more system support.

Recommended Citation

Meyer, Mechthild; Estable, Alma R.; MacLean, Lynne; and Peterson, Wendy E. (2009) "Family Home Visitors: Increasing Minority Women’s Access to Health Services," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 3: Iss. 3, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol3/iss3/1