The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47017

Neil Boris, MD¹, Geoffrey Nagle, PhD, LCSW, MPH², Julie Larrieu, PhD², Paula Zeanah, PhD, RN², and Charles Zeanah, MD². (1) Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal St., TB52, New Orleans, LA 70112, (2) Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Tulane University Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1440 Canal St., TB52, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-988-8241, nboris@tulane.edu

The Nurse Family Partnership (the David Olds model of nurse home visiting) has been well studied and has been shown to be effective. However, recent reports suggest that mental health issues such as partner violence and maternal depression, may present barriers to program effectiveness. In Louisiana, we have augmented our nurse home visiting teams with a mental health professional trained in principles and practices of infant mental health. A randomized controlled trial comparing the standard model to this augmented model is underway. This presentation will define infant mental health and highlight selected data on how early relationships relate to children's developmental outcomes. We will then present data from focus groups conducted with our nurses on the impact of mental health issues on program implementation. This data reveals the importance of the supportive role the mental health professional plays with the nurses, and the range and severity of mental health problems in our high risk population. Finally, we will detail the training plan for both the nurses and the mental health professional. A critical issue in successful implementation of a mental health component to a nurse home visiting program is helping nurses understand how and when to utilize the skills of the mental health professional. Strategies for nurturing the relationship between the mental health professional and the nurses will be presented and issues of nurse burnout and case supervision will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Define infant mental health and discuss how early relationships relate to children's developmental outcomes.
• Describe some of the key issues in integrating a mental health professional with a team of public health nurses.
• Describe the training necessary for mental health professionals to acquire the competencies to provide infant mental health services.

Keywords: Mental Health, Home Visiting

Related Web page: www.infantinstitute.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.