A qualitative study to explore health visitors' perceptions of listening visits

It is widely accepted that the practice of listening visits by health visitors is considered to be an effective intervention in the management of mild-to-moderate depression. Although the practice of listening visits is well documented, there is a lack of evidence in terms of health visitors' experiences of practising listening visits. This research study explores the experiences of health visitors in facilitating listening visits using a phenomenological approach. Each participant was interviewed on an individual basis using a non-directed approach following which a thematic analysis of the data ensued. All of the eight participants were employed by the same community NHS Trust and had a varying level of experience; however, all acknowledged that they had, at some point, experienced difficulties in facilitating listening visits.