Prevention Research Center - Nurse-Family Partnership International Program

In 2004, the Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health (PRC) began responding to inquiries from researchers and/or government health agencies abroad that were interested in possibly developing the Nurse-Family Partnership program in their country. Since 2004, the PRC has entered into seven contractual agreements to consult on the development, adaptation, and testing of the NFP programs in other societies.

Dr. Olds and his staff at the PRC have developed a model for adapting and testing the Nurse-Family Partnership program in international contexts that is grounded in the same rigorous research standards that serve as a foundation for the U.S. program. In general, an international implementation effort has four phases:

  • Phase One: Adaption. Examine the adaptations needed to deliver the NFP program in local contexts while ensuring fidelity to the NFP model.
  • Phase Two: Feasibility and Acceptability through Pilot Testing and Evaluation. Conduct a pilot test of the adapted NFP program to inform what additional adaptations may be needed to ensure the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted NFP program.
  • Phase Three: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Consider expansion of the testing and evaluation work by conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).
  • Phase Four: Continued Refinement and Expansion. Once the evaluation of the RCT has been completed and the outcomes found to be of public health significance, the implementing agency may decide to further refine and expand the adapted NFP Program in their society.

Current international collaborators include Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and the United States. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is currently underway British Columbia (Canada). Results of the RCTs conducted in England & the Netherlands have been published: