First-time mothers' satisfaction with early encounters with the nurse in child healthcare: home visit or visit to the clinic?

The aim of this study was to describe first-time mothers' views of satisfaction with their first encounter with the nurse, in order to investigate differences between home visits and clinic visits and between high/middle and low socioeconomic classification (SEC). A nation-wide postal questionnaire sent to 800 first-time mothers yielded the data for statistical analysis. Data were collected using a modified version of the questionnaire "Quality of Care from the Patient's Perspective", the part concerning child healthcare. The results showed that mothers who had received home visits were more content with the encounter than were mothers who had to visit the clinic. This particularly concerned advice on breastfeeding, being able to talk to the nurse in peace and quiet, and the fact that the nurse took time and was personal. In contrast, the mothers who had received a home visit were less content with the competence of the nurse when she examined the child. Mothers of low SEC were less satisfied with the first encounter than were mothers of high/middle SEC with regard to several points. Conclusion: Home visits were shown to have advantages over visits to the clinic. Mothers of low SEC were less satisfied with the first encounter with the nurse than were mothers in the high/middle SEC