Strengthening Social Support for the Low-Income Mother: Five Critical Questions and a Guide for Intervention

The visit to the nurse can become a vehicle for low-income mothers to develop one of the most critical health resources available to them: social support. Economic limitations require low-income mothers to create social support structures that are functional but may not match notions of ideal social support. Extensive experience of two advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurse-clinicians revealed that low-income mothers’ social support was characterized by concern for basic necessities, precarious situations, self-replicating patterns, entrepreneurial requirements, and demonstrations of strengths. Five key questions during the encounter between nurse and mother can assist the nurse in planning interventions that fit these mothers’ needs and benefit their health and that of their children.