Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is a preventive programme for vulnerable first time young mothers. It offers intensive and structured home visiting, delivered by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until the child is two.

The Department of Health has published 3 new reports that provide the results of further evaluative studies of the FNP programme. They cover the themes of programme eligibility, emerging issues and development of group FNP.

The studies were carried out by the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck, University of London.

Links

Summary of the formative evaluation of the first phase of the group-based FNP programme (PDF). Department of Health, Aug 2012.
This is a variant of the FNP programme for women in a group setting combined with maternity care, undertaken in 2 places commencing in 2009 and completed in 2011. The evaluation focused on acceptability to participants and Family Nurse facilitators, practical issues and indications of impact on child and maternal health and parenting behaviours.

Eligibility Criteria for the FNP: testing new criteria (PDF). Department of Health, Aug 2012.
This report explores the issues relating to alternative eligibility criteria for vulnerable older first time mothers aged 20-22, and first time mothers aged 19 and under with additional vulnerabilities. This work also looked at the delivery of FNP through an interpreter.

Issues emerging from the first 10 pilot sites implementing the FNP home-visiting programme in England (PDF). Department of Health, Aug 2012.
This report builds on those previously published, and identifies national and local system contributions to effective delivery of FNP, the emerging expertise of FNP practitioners and the influence of FNP practice on universal service provision.

Scottish readers may also be interested in the Family Nurse Partnership pages on the Scottish Government website.