Fidelity to an early childhood home visitation program model’s prenatal physical activity curriculum modules: A convergent parallel mixed-methods investigation

Abstract

Prenatal physical activity (PA) has been associated with health benefits with the potential to affect both mother and baby; however, a matter of conjecture remains regarding the fidelity with which different early childhood home visitation program models’ prenatal PA modules are delivered. Therefore, this mixed-methods study investigated the fidelity with which the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker program’s prenatal PA curriculum modules were delivered to clients. Data sources were: four focus groups ( n = 2, n = 3, n = 4, and n = 1) with community health workers, termed Outreach Workers (OWs); five interviews with Site Leaders; and existing client records for 109 clients (e.g., checklists of curriculum modules completed for clients). One key finding was that eight OWs discussed delivering the prenatal PA curriculum modules at multiple, most, or all of the home visits whereas the checklist data revealed that only 19.3 % of clients received two or more home visits where “prenatal PA” and/or “other” curriculum modules were delivered. Findings can be applied to enhance fidelity assessment and the fidelity with which the prenatal PA curriculum modules are delivered.