Exploring the Spectrum of Home Visiting Programmes for Infant Care: A Systematic Review

Home visiting (HV) is an essential preventive strategy designed to provide support services to infants and their families across various domains. This study aimed to systematically review the literature available from 1 January 2013 to 1 January 2023 on HV delivered to infants (from birth to ≤2 years of age) and their families, and to compare and describe the characteristics of home visiting programmes (HVPs). This review follows the PRISMA statement and includes 16 peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2013 to 2023 that report primary research on infants and their families. The 13 HVPs included in this review varied in their HV characteristics, including the duration and nature of HV, the qualifications of specialists providing HV services, the target group for HV, the required assistance, and different skills/knowledge conveyed during HV. Exploring the HVPs for infants and their families, it was determined that most HVPs are family-oriented, aiming to support families raising children. In delivering these programmes, the public health sector is primarily responsible for ensuring home visits for first-time parents/families and mothers with their infants, and for providing counselling and health care services. Furthermore, HVPs primarily aim to strengthen infant and family health, with long-term, lower-intensity interventions being the most commonly identified programme profile. These findings offer an opportunity to examine the variety of HVPs across countries and local contexts, and they prompt consideration of how HVPs might be applied to specific problems faced by infants and their families.