HOME VISIT QUALITY VARIATIONS IN TWO EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS IN RELATION TO PARENTING AND CHILD VOCABULARY OUTCOMES

• Published in: Infant mental health journal 2016-05, Vol.37 (3), p.193-207
• Main Authors: Roggman, Lori A., Cook, Gina A., Innocenti, Mark S., Jump Norman, Vonda, Boyce, Lisa K., Christiansen, Katie, Peterson, Carla A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: calidad de las visitas a casa; Child Language; child vocabulary; crianza; Early Intervention (Education) - methods; Einbindung von Familien; engagement familial; Erziehung; Family; family engagement; Female; Hausbesuchspraxis; home visit quality; home‐visiting practices; House Calls; Humans; Infant; Male; parentage; Parenting; participación de la familia; pratiques de visite à domicile; prácticas de visita a casa; Quality of Health Care; Qualität von Hausbesuchen; qualité de la visite à domicile; vocabulaire de l'enfant; vocabulario del niño; Vocabulary; Wortschatz von Kindern; 子どもの語彙; 孩子的詞彙; 家庭參與; 家庭訪問の実践; 家庭訪問の質; 家族の関与; 家訪方法; 家訪質量; 育児; 親職教養
• ISSN: 0163-9641; 1097-0355
• DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21565

ABSTRACT Home‐visiting programs aiming to improve early child development have demonstrated positive outcomes, but processes within home visits to individual families are rarely documented. We examined family‐level variations in the home‐visiting process (N = 71) from extant video recordings of home visits in two Early Head Start programs, using an observational measure of research‐based quality indicators of home‐visiting practices and family engagement, the Home Visit Rating Scales (HOVRS). HOVRS scores, showing good interrater agreement and internal consistency, were significantly associated with parent‐ and staff‐reported positive characteristics of home visiting as well as with parenting and child language outcomes tested at program exit. When home‐visiting processes were higher quality during the program, home visit content was more focused on child development, families were more involved in the overall program, and most important, scores on measures of the parenting environment and children's vocabulary were higher at the end of the program. Results showed that home visit quality was indirectly associated with child language outcomes through parenting outcomes. Observation ratings of home visit quality could be useful for guiding program improvement, supporting professional development, and increasing our understanding of the links between home‐visiting processes and outcomes. RESUMEN Los programas de visita a casa con la meta de mejorar el desarrollo del niño han demostrado resultados positivos, pero los procesos dentro de la visita a casa a familias individuales son raramente documentados. Examinamos las variaciones en el nivel de familia en los procesos de visitas a casa (N = 71) con grabaciones de video existentes de visitas a casa en dos programas de Comienzo Temprano (Early Head Start), usando una medida de observación de indicadores de calidad basados en la investigación de prácticas de visita a casa y participación de la familia, las Escalas de Puntuación de Visita a Casa (HOVRS). Los puntajes de HOVRS, que muestran un buen acuerdo de inter‐puntuación y consistencia interna, se asociaron significativamente con los reportes de padres y del personal sobre las positivas características de la visita a casa así como con los resultados de crianza y lenguaje del niño, examinados al final del programa. Cuando los procesos de visita a casa fueron de alta calidad durante el programa, el contenido de visita a casa estuvo más enfocado en el desarrollo