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.

Learn More

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.