Observing home‐visiting quality across time: A longitudinal reliability study of the Home Visit Rating Scales

Abstract

Empirical examination of home‐visiting quality over time is lacking in the research literature. To this end, this study examined the most recent edition of a widely used observational measure of home‐visiting quality, the Home Visit Rating Scales (HOVRS), over four repeated assessments spanning an average of 6 months. Psychometric quality for the HOVRS Total and Home Visitor Practice Scales, including item ratings and calculated scores, across time was demonstrated. Stability indicators for the Family Engagement Scales varied, with superior reliability often indicated for individual ratings over the calculated score. The exploration of interrelationships among family demographics and change in HOVRS scores over time were largely insignificant. Interestingly, a decline in the Home Visitor Practice Scale significantly related to increased symptoms of maternal depression, possibly suggesting that home‐visitors’ focus shifted from children's needs to those of parents when mental health concerns were observed. Although this study is an examination of one program model and poses limited generalizability, it sets the stage for advancing the HOVRS and longitudinal measurement of home‐visiting quality.

A step forward to quality: The home visit rating scales and the measurement of process quality in home‐visiting programs

“…Two of the studies summarized in this special section yielded interesting findings related to the Responsiveness to Family Strengths and Culture subscale. In Manz and Ventresco (this issue), although they recommend interpreting these findings with caution due to instability, the scores on the “Responsiveness to Family Strengths” reflected an inverted U‐curve. A question raised by this finding is why home visitors would be less responsive toward the beginning and end of their work with families.…”

“…The Roggman et al paper (this issue) reflects a methodological maturation of the HOVRS that has improved upon the instrument's usability and once again verifies its psychometric soundness. Further, Manz and Ventresco (this issue) offer psychometric information on the use of the HOVRS across time. Collectively, the series of studies presented in this special section of the Infant Mental Health Journal represent a major step forward in the utilization of the HOVRS for research and practice.…”

“…A particularly compelling finding emerged from the Manz and Ventresco article (this issue) in their examination of the longitudinal use of the HOVRS. Specifically, they found that the quality of home‐visitor practices declined as the levels of maternal depression among participants increased.…”

“…(this issue) had a very explicit theory of change that may have accounted for the difference in its HOVRS scores and those of other programs. In addition, the conflation of the Early Head Start and Little Talks interventions in the Manz and Ventresco study (this issue) begs the question of whether this combination of programs had some influence on HOVRS scores. Future research should disentangle the influences of home‐visitor and program characteristics on quality.…”

Observing home‐visit quality with the home visit rating scales: Introduction to the special section

“…Manz & Ventresco (this issue) used the HOVRS to measure home‐visit quality across time, within the context of an Early Head Start program where providers also were delivering a book‐sharing intervention known as Little Talks . These researchers were interested in examining the stability of program quality, especially in relation to individual family characteristics (e.g., home language, maternal age, employment status, child gender).…”