A concept analysis of home visiting.

Throughout the history of community health nursing, home visiting has been and remains a central nursing intervention. Yet little conceptual clarification has dealt with this intuitively very valuable nursing intervention. Here, the concept of home visiting was investigated through a concept analysis. The nature of home visiting as it emerged over time was gleaned from historical and current literature. A working definition, capturing the essence of home visiting and implying new measurement possibilities, was formulated. Home visiting emerged as a specific nursing intervention, preceded by an antecedent event, unfolding as a process, with phases labeled as "contacting," "going to see," "gaining entry," "seeing," "terminating," and "telling." Nurse sub-outcomes, nursing strategies, contextual factors influencing the process, and potential consequences of home visiting were uncovered.