Objective: The Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program aims to minimize the occurrence of adverse maternal and child health outcomes for mothers deemed at-risk during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. This study sought to understand the needs of and challenges faced by immigrant families in accessing health care through the perspective of Florida MIECHV home visitors, supervisors, and administrators.
Design and sample: In this exploratory qualitative study, focus groups were held at each of the Florida MIECHV-funded program sites with a total of 81 MIECHV staff to discuss how the program addresses a range of participant needs.
Measures: Data were collected through 32 semi-structured focus groups. Transcripts were analyzed using a hybrid approach entailing the development of an a priori codebook and thematic analysis.
Results: Staff from eight of the 11 programs described social and physical isolation and economic hardship faced by immigrant families enrolled in their programs, resulting in barriers to needed health care and social services.
Conclusions: Home visitors in the Florida MIECHV program served as trusted confidants that helped families navigate social services. Future research should focus on the impact that home visiting has on immigrant health and whether this impact is maintained over time.
Keywords: access to health care; barriers; focus groups; immigrants; maternal-child health; program evaluation; qualitative research; underserved populations.
© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.