Using portable computers in home visits: Effects on programs, data quality, home visitors and caregivers

Collecting and using high-quality data related to participant outcomes are critical for monitoring program quality in home visitation programs for child abuse and neglect prevention, as well as for efforts to improve effectiveness and use limited funds efficiently. An evaluation was conducted to determine the impact of using portable computers to record data from standardized screening tools during home visits. Six home visiting agencies participating in the Early Years Home Visitation Outcomes Project of Wisconsin implemented computerized screenings with wireless uploading of data to a state public health database. Using portable computers saved agencies time and money on all four screening tools tested, with significant cost savings (p < 0.05) on three of the four tools, as compared to paper-and-pencil administration of screenings and manual data entry. The average time used per screening dropped between 9 and 63 min, saving agencies between $2 and $14 per screening administration. Screening completion was also higher when portable computers were used for data capture. There was little effect on home visitors' perceptions of the ease of data collection or their interactions with families being served. The use of portable computers to collect standard screening data holds promise for the field of home visitation.