Family Nurse Partnership evaluation: methods and process

7. Conclusions

An approved framework for evaluating FNP in Scotland using a natural experiment design and routine data has been established. This includes the identification of both FNP clients and a control group of young mothers drawn from the same health boards. A set of study outcomes has been agreed which collectively address about half of the potential domains within the programme logic model. Defined short and medium term outcomes will be analysed using statistical methods. Outcomes where either the direction effect is uncertain, the outcome is rare or data are classed as experimental will be reported descriptively only. The governance approvals secured and numbers of successfully identified and linked study cases and controls lays the foundation for a pre-specified main analysis which will efficiently use routine data to produce generalisable results about FNP programme impact in Scotland.