Families that received nurse home visits through the Nurse Family Partnership were less likely to experience child and maternal mortality, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics in July 2014.

The Nurse Family Partnership is an evidence-based home visiting program for first-time mothers. In Jacksonville, the program is currently being implemented through the Duval County and Shands Jacksonville Healthy Start programs, part of the Florida Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

The study was a randomized clinical trial with more than two decades of follow-up. It looked at mortality outcomes of families that participated in the Nurse Family Partnership in Memphis. Results showed lower rates of child mortality from birth to age 20 and maternal mortality rates were three times higher for mothers not participating in the the program.