Empowering Public Health Nurses and Community Home Visitors through Effective Communication Relationships

Abstract

Home visiting programs for marginalized families have included both Public Health Nurses (PHNs) and Community Home Visitors (CHV). Support for families requires health care providers to implement effective communication and collaboration practices; however, few studies have examined how this is carried out. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how an Enhanced Home Visiting (EHV) program in Nova Scotia Canada was organized, delivered through the experiences of PHNs and CHVs. Feminist post-structuralism informed by discourse analysis was used to understand how their experiences were socially and institutionally constructed. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 PHNs and 8 CHVs and one focus group was held with 10 of the participants. A social discourse on mothering layered within a social discourse of working with a vulnerable population added a deeper understanding of how communication was constructed through the everyday practices of PHNs and CHVs. Findings may be used to inform reporting and communication practices between health care providers who work with marginalized families.