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Nurse-Family Partnership

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Nurse-Family Partnership

Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a non-profit organization operating in the United States that connects mothers pregnant with their first child with registered nurses, who provide home visits until the child's second birthday. Studies have reported associations between the Nurse-Family Partnership intervention and outcomes related to maternal health, child health, and economic security.

The Nurse-Family Partnership program originated from a randomized controlled trial. The trial was conducted in a predominantly white, low-income neighborhood, located in Elmira, New York, in the late 1970s. For three consecutive decades, Professor David Olds and his colleagues conducted three similar randomized control trials, gathering research from each trial, which later contributed to the evidence-based development of the NFP. Randomized controlled trials were conducted in Elmira, New York; Memphis, Tennessee; and Denver, Colorado. The outcome of these trials proved that the NFP provided a tremendous number of benefits to children born in poverty stricken environments (Mason, 2016). Many of the families that participate in these trials had been experiencing many adversities, traumatic lifestyles events, and exposed to environments that were harmful to themselves and potentially harmful for their child. These parents expressed deep desires to protect and nurture their children and the NFP nurses facilitated resources and provided motivation to help change and eliminate these adversities to help create a better lifestyle and growing environment for both the parent and the child (Rowe, 2016).

Bronfenbrenner's theory of human ecology holds the idea that throughout the lifespan, humans are impacted by their environments, and likewise, humans impact their environments. At "ecological transition" points, developmental opportunities are created from a change in environment or in the child's role.

Nurses study the mother's relationships with her partner and other people in her life, as well as the greater community dynamic, to help mothers navigate potential challenges they may face in motherhood. NFP begins during pregnancy to take advantage of this ecological transition point in the mother's life.

Bandura's theory of self-efficacy holds that when people believe in their ability to meet challenges and be successful, they are more likely to do so, and each success further fuels this belief. Giving someone a task that they believe they can perform is one way to enhance self-efficacy.

NFP aims to give mothers more confidence by asking them to recall past successes, as well as engaging them in problem-solving tasks.

Bowlby's attachment theory holds that infants are biologically driven to bond with others, and this drive is reinforced by attentive parenting. Further, it is the child–caregiver relationship that shapes a child's development, making the quality of parental care in early childhood vital.

Attachment theory is used in NFP in two ways. First, it is used to encourage mothers to bond with their children (e.g., explaining that infants learn to recognize mother's voice in the womb, pointing out when the child expresses trust in and dependence on the mother). Second, it is used to inform the nurse's relationship with the mother to build trust, and to model the skill.

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