Army home visitors’ implementation of military family violence prevention programming in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Research Report:
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Ferrara, A. M., Kaye, M. P., Abram-Erby, G., Gernon, S., & Perkins, D. F. (2022). Army home visitors’ implementation of military family violence prevention programming in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 11(1), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000193
Abstract Created by REACH:
The COVID-19 pandemic required many family service providers to shift from in-person to telehealth service delivery (i.e., working with families remotely through technology). This study gathered 30 home visitor family service providers from the Army New Parent Support Program (i.e., NPSP; a child maltreatment prevention program) into focus groups to discuss how their services and relationships with clients have changed during the shift to telehealth. Two primary themes were identified that highlighted the benefits and challenges of working with military families during COVID-19, as well as the process of adapting to delivering the program through technology instead of in-person.
Focus:
Child maltreatment
Parents
Programming
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Military medical service providers
Military non-medical service providers
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Methodology:
Cross-Sectional Study
Qualitative Study
Authors:
Ferrara, Amanda M., Kaye, Miranda P., Abram-Erby, Grejika, Gernon, Sean, Perkins, Daniel F.
Abstract:
The Army New Parent Support Program (Army NPSP) provides home visitation services that promote positive parenting strategies and aims to prevent family violence for expectant military parents and military families with children from birth to age 3. Since the onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Army NPSP services have rapidly adapted to a telehealth model to fit with the suggested practices of physical distancing. Employing a grounded theory approach, nine virtual focus groups with 30 Army NPSP home visitors across eight installations were conducted to examine how this rapid shift has impacted their services, practice, and professional role. The present study identified two overarching themes: (1) working with families (e.g., continued engagement with families, increased communication, shifting family needs) and (2) adjusting to telework (e.g., technology, professional collaboration and communication, professional growth). Findings from these focus groups indicated that home visitors were actively engaged with their clients and experienced both challenges and benefits of telehealth. While the rapid transition was a big change, and home visitors missed the face-to-face interactions, they expressed that they were adapting and improving their virtual service delivery with time. Increased concerns regarding families’ well-being due to social and physical isolation, increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, and grief for losses due to COVID-19, along with the ability to continue connections with these highly mobile families, points to the importance of telehealth as a means to implement parenting programs vital to military family well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
American Psychological Association
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Keywords:
Army personnel, COVID-19, domestic violence, expectant parents, military families, pandemics, telemedicine, violence prevention
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
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