Addressing health equity through a telehealth maternal–newborn home visit for nurse practitioner students

Abstract

This educational innovation describes the implementation and evaluation of a telehealth maternal-newborn home visit clinical experience for nurse practitioner students at an urban, private research university in the Midwest. The visits were conducted using the Family Connects evidence-based universal support program for families with newborns to evaluate each family's unique risks and to align their needs with available community resources. Students were prepared for the clinical experience through advanced practice didactic modules and simulation and then participated in the visits over a 2-week period. After the clinical opportunity, both students and community health nurse collaborators completed a survey about their experiences. The students reported feeling prepared to participate in the visits, that they were able to meet clinical objectives using telehealth, and learned about the community resources available for families with newborns. The nurses reported feeling prepared to collaborate with nurse practitioner students and that they benefitted from having a student participate in the visits. The experience prepared the students to meet the needs of a diverse patient population during the early postpartum/newborn period by providing newborn care advice, addressing access to health, assessing social determinants of health, and considering community resource referrals to reduce disparities and improve health equity. This article describes how a telehealth clinical experience addresses the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials for advanced-level nursing students and provides recommendations for incorporating and evaluating telehealth clinical experiences in pediatric advanced practice education.