Nursing home visit impact in puerperium : systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Home visit can be an intervention tool in family’s health and in the continuity of postpartum cares. Objective: Examine the impact of nursing home visit in puerperium and in neonates of occidental countries. Methods: The language used was English and the publication period refers to the last 10 years. Expression used in Web of Knowledge ISI database: ((postpartum periodORpuerper*) AND((Home visit*). Results: From 137 articles, 6 articles were eligible, after the implementation of the protocol of systematic reviews of literature. Three dimensions related to home visit were identified: personal contact; relation cost-benefit/efficacy; importance of home visit to the mothers. According to Salonen et al (2011), online resources with information about puerperium is not effective. Paul et al (2004), Koc et al (2008) and Ammerman et al (2013) demonstrate that home visit reduces parental stress and neonates’ trauma, decreasing rates of hospital readmission. Rodrigues et al (2006) and Aksu et al (2011) show the lower cost of home visit compared to the cost of neonates’ readmission. Mothers who receive home visit choose exclusive breastfeeding, for a longer period, recognizing the importance of home visit. Conclusions: Home visit reduces parental stress, contributes to knowledge acquisition, and reduces neonates’ readmission and morbidity. The interpersonal relationship shows more effectiveness in prevention of postpartum problems unlike online information. Furthermore, relation cost-benefit is positive, because home visit costs are lower than costs of neonates’ readmission. However, further research is needed to understand the importance of home visit in puerperium.