Virtual Home Visiting Intervention

Virtual Home Visiting Intervention for Women at Risk for Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

Panther RISE Grant Program (PRISE)

January 2021 – December 2022

The American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (ACOG) as well as the Texas Health & Safety Code have provided guidance on an ideal model of care for postpartum women. Recommendations from ACOG center around re-envisioning postpartum care as an ongoing process, not a single event, which should be tailored to the individual needs of the client. According to ACOG an ideal practice model would be for women to have contact with a health care provider within the first 3 weeks postpartum and to have a comprehensive postpartum visit within 12 weeks postpartum. The comprehensive visit would include assessment and treatment for any physical, social, or psychological issues that may be present. Once a routine part of medical care, home visits by physicians became almost obsolete in recent decades. However, the home visit model is making a resurgence in health care as a means of improving patient outcomes. In the current state of public health and with consideration of the health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed intervention will utilize virtual home visits to assess maternal well-being in the immediate postpartum period.

Intervention: Prairie View A&M University students enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner program will conduct virtual home visits with high-risk women during the first and third postpartum weeks. During virtual visits, FNP students will obtain a health history, administer a psychosocial assessment, and ask questions about physiological recovery and adaptation. If students identify abnormal data in the participants, they will be referred to their obstetrical health care provider for follow up and treatment.

Educational Value: PVAMU-CON has a vested interest in supporting the operations and continuation of the proposed intervention. Involvement of FNP students provides valuable exposure to rural and underserved patient populations and prepares them for APRN practice in communities that suffer from provider shortages. The program will provide a rich learning experience for FNP students and satisfy a part of the requirement for practical experience needed for program completion. In addition, the program can be a source of ideas for future graduate capstone projects and collaboration.