Fraser Health Enhanced Family Visiting Program evaluation
January 28, 2026
Photo credit: Anna Shvets on Pexels
About
Nurse-home visiting programs that commence prenatally through to child age two have shown promising benefits for mothers experiencing disadvantage and their children. In our BC Healthy Connections Project findings — which included more than 500 families from Fraser Health Authority — we showed benefits by child age two: reduced prenatal substance exposure; improved child mental health and language development, maternal mental health and income; and reduced intimate partner violence exposure
Building on this work, Fraser Health Authority Population and Public Health developed and implemented an adapted program for their diverse families who were underserved: the Enhanced Family Visiting (EFV) program. EFV is an intensive nurse-home visiting program (prenatal to age 2 years) that serves diverse families experiencing disadvantage who reside in the Fraser Health Authority.
With our longstanding Fraser Health Authority partners, we are now conducting an EFV program evaluation. We collected quantitative survey data from 54 (73%) EFV public health nurses, and all 5 supervisors. We have conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 EFV mothers to learn more about their experiences with the program. We anticipate that this new evidence will inform EFV program refinements to ensure adequate reach and supports for children and families.
This project is ongoing, with reports expected in 2026.
Principal Investigators
- Nicole L.A. Catherine (Nominated Principal Investigator)
- Kim Thomson (Co-Principal Investigator)
Public Health Partners
- Lindsay Bowthorpe, Judi Mussenden, Michelle Urbina-Beggs, Meghan Martin
Funders
- Fraser Health Authority – Population and Public Health