Healthy Families Study

Background

October 2013 – September 2022

The Healthy Families Study is a randomized trial of two home visiting programs at the Milwaukee Health Department that serve low-income, pregnant women. One program implements Healthy Families America, an evidence-based curriculum, and the other is a briefer and less intensive nurse visiting program. The two program groups are compared to each other and to a third group that did not enroll in services. Outcomes of interest include maternal and infant health, caregiving practices, and child development, which are assessed at four time points over a 15-month period. Findings from the study are being shared locally and nationally to increase knowledge of what services work, for whom, and in what contexts.

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Healthy Families Publications

Mersky, J. P., Janczewski, C. E., Plummer Lee, C., & Yasin, T. (2022). Parenting stress in low-income women receiving home visiting services: Field trial results from an urban health department.

Mersky, J. P., Janczewski, C. E., & Plummer Lee, C., Gilbert, R. M., McAtee, C., & Yasin, T. (2020). Effects of home visiting on breastfeeding and bedsharing in a low-income urban sample. Journal of Health Education and Behavior. 1-8.

ICFW Team

Colleen Janczewski
Joshua Mersky

Funding

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Partners

Milwaukee Health Department

Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

All Child & Family Well-Being