Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Home Visiting Services in Georgia

Emory Team Members: Dr. Sarah Blake, Dr. Silke von Esenwein, Dr. Julie Gazmararian

GDPH Team Member: Twanna Nelson

Home visiting programs are an evidence-based early-intervention strategy to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women and at-risk families. In Georgia, there are 1,300 families served by 17 home visiting programs that employ nurses, social workers, or community health workers. These programs work with their clients to achieve several major aims: 1) increase healthy pregnancies; 2) improve parenting confidence and competence; 3) improve child health, development and readiness, and 4) increase family connectedness to community and social support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for home visiting services is even more critical as families face new challenges and stressors. 

This six-month collaborative will produce a targeted assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on home visiting services in Georgia. The teams will work closely to document the emerging needs of home visiting clients and the strategies that home visiting programs have implemented to meet these needs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This project will produce timely evidence to GDPH for strengthening programs and practices that connect Georgia’s needy families to resources and opportunities through home visiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.