Barriers and pathways to engagement in a home visiting intervention: Parents’ perspectives on minding the baby

Abstract

Caregivers play a critical role in early child development, yet adverse experiences such as trauma or mental health difficulties can compromise caregiving. Minding the Baby (MTB) is a home-visiting intervention supporting vulnerable families from pregnancy to the child's second birthday. This study explored parents’ experiences to understand engagement and barriers to participation. Within a Danish MTB trial, 31 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with parents who completed, discontinued, or declined MTB. Data were analyzed thematically. Eight themes were identified: (1) Validation and Support in Early Parenthood, (2) Community Mobilization, (3) Divergent Perspectives within Couples, (4) Therapeutic Alliance and Home Visitors’ Skills, (5) Intervention as Time Consuming or Confusing, (6) Fear of Surveillance, (7) Not Identifying with the Target Group, and (8) When MTB Is Not Enough. Most parents valued parenting confidence-building, relational support, and flexible delivery. Barriers included mistrust, surveillance concerns, scheduling constraints (especially for fathers), perceptions of not belonging to the target group due to feeling “too well-functioning”, associated stigma, and limits of program scope. Parents found MTB broadly acceptable and supportive, highlighting the importance of transparent communication, flexible scheduling, and father engagement. Findings offer insights for recruitment, tailoring, and implementation of home-visiting programs.