Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare baseline Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI) scores with the exit scores of women enrolled in The Nurse Family Partnership. The scores are obtained approximately two and one half years apart. The results could assist in determining if this home visiting program positively affects its clients level of depression. Roy's Adaptation Theory was used as the guiding framework for this study. This theory is based on the premise that thinking and feeling mediate human action, and that ineffective responses are ones that do not contribute to integrity in terms of the goals of the human system. The literature suggests that depressed women have poorer parenting habits, and that children of depressed mothers are more likely to have behavioral problems. It has also been found that mothers who receive regular home visitation by a nurse or other paraprofessional have a decreased incidence of child maltreatment, and better parent-child interactions.

A retrospective chart review was completed on 42 charts of graduates from a Nurse Family Partnership site located in a local hospital. It was found that the BDI scores decreased, on average, 4.262 points. Further research is needed to determine other possible causes of this decrease.