Clinical and socio-demographic features of families referred to a new perinatal home visit program

Introduction: Perinatal home visit (PHV) programs represent an opportunity to provide parenting support interventions for families that might not otherwise have access to them due to multiple adversity factors. Methods: This retrospective study focused on 81 families referred for PHV in Paris since the program's creation in 2022. A 35-item grid was completed by the clinicians involved for each family to document the referral's context, socio-demographic, medical, and psychiatric characteristics, the ICD-10 diagnoses, and the care provided. These features were compared to the 2021 French National Survey on Perinatal Health data (NSPH). Results: Most cases were referred by maternities, with visits starting in the antenatal period for 33% of the families. Situations of social deprivation (i.e., related to housing, income, or social protection access) were over-represented in these families compared to data from the national survey (Odd-Ratios [OR]=8.2), as well as the contexts of violence during pregnancy (OR=12.0). Half of these families were naïve about any psychological or psychiatric care. The mean number of visits was 7.79±8.26, with the participation of different types of professionals (e.g., psychologist, motor therapist, childcare worker). The most common maternal psychiatric disorders were stress and trauma-related disorders, followed by depressive and anxiety disorders. Based on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement subscale, 88% of the families were considered to have significantly improved at the end of treatment. Conclusion: These preliminary results show the relative notable effectiveness in providing supportive parenting care for families having multiple risks.