David Olds, PhD, DSC
Professor, Pediatrics-Prevention Research Center
Professional Titles
- Professor of Pediatrics, Nursing, and Public Health
Research Interests
Professor Olds has focused his career on developing and testing a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers and their children, known as the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). NFP nurses guide pregnant women and parents of young children to improve the outcomes of pregnancy, their children’s health and development, and their economic self-sufficiency, with the goal of reducing disparities over the life-course. Professor Olds spent 20 years developing and testing the NFP in a series of randomized clinical trials before offering it for public investment in 1996 under an initiative sponsored by the US Justice Department.Publications
- Jack SM, Ford-Gilboe M, Wathen CN, Davidov DM, McNaughton DB, Coben J, Olds DL, MacMillan HL. Development of a nurse home visitation intervention for intimate partner violence. BMC Health Serv Res 2012;12:50-64.
- O’Brien RA, Moritz P, Luckey DW, McClatchey MW, Ingoldsby EM, Olds DL. Mixed methods analysis of participant attrition in the Nurse-Family Partnership. Prev Sci 2012;13(3):219-228.
- Olds DL. Improving the life chances of vulnerable children and families with prenatal and infancy support of parents: The Nurse-Family Partnership. Psychosocial Intervention 2012;21(2):129-143.
- Olds DL. The continuing quest for effective early interventions. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2012;166(10):961-962.
- Donelan-McCall N, Olds D. Prenatal/postnatal home visiting programs and their impact on the social and emotional development of young children (0-5). Spiker D, Gaylor E. (topic eds.) In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDev, eds. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development (online). Montreal, Quebec: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development and Strategic Knowledge Cluster on Early Child Development; 2012: 1-8.
- Olds D. Moving Towards Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions for Children and Families In RD Krugman & JE Korbin (Eds.), C. Henry Kempe: A 50 Year Legacy to the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect. Springer Scientific (in press).
- Olds D. The Nurse-Family Partnership. In BM Lester & JD Sparrow (eds.), Nurturing Children and Families: Building on the Legacy of T. Berry Brazelton. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2011.
- Hill P & Olds D. Improving implementation of the Nurse-Family Partnership in the process of going to scale. Child Trends, Bethesda, MD.
- Olds DL, Holmberg JR, Donelan-McCall N, Luckey DW, Knudtson MD, Robinson J. Effects of Home Visits by Paraprofessionals and by Nurses on Children: Follow-up of a Randomized Trial at Ages 6 and 9 Years. JAMA Pediatr. 2014 Feb 1;168(2):114-21. PubMed PMID: 24296904
- Ingoldsby EM, Baca P, McClatchey MW, Luckey DW, Ramsey MO, Loch JM, Lewis J, Blackaby TS, Petrini MB, Smith BJ, McHale M, Perhacs M, Olds DL. Quasi-experimental pilot study of intervention to increase participant retention and completed home visits in the nurse-family partnership. Prev Sci. 2013 Dec;14(6):525-34. PubMed PMID: 23832657
- Bentley MJ, Lin H, Fernandez TV, Lee M, Yrigollen CM, Pakstis AJ, Katsovich L, Olds DL, Grigorenko EL, Leckman JF. Gene variants associated with antisocial behaviour: a latent variable approach. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013 Oct;54(10):1074-85. PubMed PMID: 23822756
- Olds DL, Donelan-McCall N, O’Brien R, MacMillan H, Jack S, Jenkins T, Dunlap III WP, O’Fallon M, Yost E, Thorland B, Pinto F, Gasbarro M, Baca P, Melnick A, Beeber L. Improving the Nurse-Family Partnership in Community Practice. Pediatrics, 2013;132(2):S110-S117.
- Olds DL, Kitzman H, Knudtson MD, Anson E, Smith JA, Cole R. Effect of home visiting by nurses on maternal and child mortality: Results of a 2-decade follow-up of a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, July 7, 2014.
- Jacob-Files E, Rdesinski R, Storey M, Gipson T, Cohen DJ, Olds D, Melnick A. Should home-based contraceptive dispensing become a routine part of Public Health Nurses Practice? Review of nurse perceptions. Public Health Nursing, September 7, 2014. Doi: 10.1111/phn.12150
- Holland ML, Xia Y, Kitzman HJ, Dozier AM, Olds DL. Patterns of Visit Attendance in the Nurse–Family Partnership Program. American Journal of Public Health. 2014;104(10):e58-e65. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302115 NIHMS622028
- Olds DL, Baca P, McClatchey M, Ingoldsby EM, Luckey DW, Knudtson MD, Loch JM, Ramsey M. Cluster randomized controlled trial of intervention to increase participant retention and completed home visits in the Nurse-Family Partnership. Prevention Science 2015; 16(6): 778-788. PMID: 25999201, PubMed is in process
- Holmberg JR, Olds DL. Father attendance in nurse home visitation. Infant Mental Health Journal 2015; 36(1): 128-139. PMCID: PMC4357164
- Jacob-Files E, Rdesinski R, Storey M, Gipson T, Cohen D, Olds D, Melnick A. Should Home-Based Contraceptive Dispensing Become a Routine Part of Public Health Nurse Practice? Review of Nurse Perceptions. Public Health Nursing 2015;32(6): 702-710. PMID: 25196399, PubMed is in process
- Enoch MA, Kitzman H, Smith JA, Anson E, Hodgkinson CA, Goldman D, Olds DL. A Prospective Cohort Study of Influences on Externalizing Behaviors Across Childhood: Results From a Nurse Home Visiting Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 May;55(5):376-82. PubMed PMID: 27126851
- Olds, D.L. (2016), Improving standards for evidence-based policy. Criminology & Public Policy, 15: 669-676. Doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12229
- Olds D. Commentary: Building evidence to improve maternal and child health. Lancet 2015 Oct 13. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)00476-6/abstract PMID: 26474806 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
- Kitzman H, Olds DL, Knudtson MD, Cole R, Anson E, Smith JA, Fishbein D, DiClemente R, Wingood G, Caliendo AM, Hopfer C, Miller T, Conti G. Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visiting and 18-Year Outcomes of a Randomized Trial. Pediatrics. 2019 Dec;144(6). PubMed PMID: 31748254
- Olds DL, Kitzman H, Anson E, Smith JA, Knudtson MD, Miller T, Cole R, Hopfer C, Conti G. Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visiting Effects on Mothers: 18-Year Follow-up of a Randomized Trial. Pediatrics. 2019 Dec;144(6). PubMed PMID: 31748253
- Jack SM, Olds DL, MacMillan HL. Incorporating Intimate Partner Violence Interventions in Nurse Home Visitation Programs-Reply. JAMA. 2019 Sep 17;322(11):1103-1104. PubMed PMID: 31529003
- Jack SM, Boyle M, McKee C, Ford-Gilboe M, Wathen CN, Scribano P, Davidov D, McNaughton D, O'Brien R, Johnston C, Gasbarro M, Tanaka M, Kimber M, Coben J, Olds DL, MacMillan HL. Effect of Addition of an Intimate Partner Violence Intervention to a Nurse Home Visitation Program on Maternal Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019 Apr 23;321(16):1576-1585. PubMed PMID: 31012933
- Lorber MF, Olds DL, Donelan-McCall N. The Impact of a Preventive Intervention on Persistent, Cross-Situational Early Onset Externalizing Problems. Prev Sci. 2019 Jul;20(5):684-694. PubMed PMID: 30684213
- Tung GJ, Williams VN, Ayele R, Shimasaki S, Olds D. Characteristics of effective collaboration: a study of Nurse-Family Partnership and child welfare. Child Abuse Negl. 2019 Sep;95: 104028.
- Williams VN, Ayele R, Shimasaki S, Tung GJ, Olds D. Risk assessment practices among home visiting nurses and child protection caseworkers in Colorado, United States: a qualitative investigation. Health Soc Care Community. 2019 June;27(5): 1344-52.
- 1. Olds DL and Yost E. Developing the Nurse-Family Partnership, in M. Feinberg (Ed). Designing Evidence-Based Public Health ad Prevention Programs: Expert Program Developers Explain the Science and Art. Routledge, New York, NY (2021)
- Donelan-McCall NS, Knudtson MD, Olds DL. Maternal and Child Mortality: Analysis of Nurse Home Visiting in 3 RCTs. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Oct;61(4):483-491. PubMed PMID: 34420828
- Williams VN, McManus BM, Brooks-Russell A, Yost E, Allison MA, Olds DL, Tung GJ. A qualitative study of effective collaboration among nurse home visitors, healthcare providers and community support services in the United States. Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Sep 20. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34543476
- Jack SM, Kimber M, Davidov D, Ford-Gilboe M, Wathen CN, McKee C, Tanaka M, Boyle M, Johnston C, Coben J, Gasbarro M, McNaughton D, O'Brien R, Olds DL, Scribano P, MacMillan HL. Nurse-Family Partnership nurses' attitudes and confidence in identifying and responding to intimate partner violence: An explanatory sequential mixed methods evaluation. J Adv Nurs. 2021 Sep;77(9):3894-3910. PubMed PMID: 34288040
- Williams VN, Franco CY, Lopez CC, Allison MA, Olds DL, Tung GJ. A Qualitative Study of Mothers' Perspectives on Enrolling and Engaging in an Evidence-Based Nurse Home Visiting Program. Prev Sci. 2021 Oct;22(7):845-855. PubMed PMID: 34117977
- Williams VN, Lopez CC, Tung GJ, Olds DL, Allison MA. A case study of care co-ordination between primary care providers and nurse home visitors to serve young families experiencing adversity in the Northwestern United States. Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34114696
- Williams VN, Brooks-Russell A, McManus BM, Yost E, Olds DL, Tung GJ. National survey of nurse home visitor collaboration with health care and social services. Public Health Nurs. 2021 Sep;38(5):825-836. PubMed PMID: 33749013
- Sahir R. Bhatnagar, Tianyuan Lu, Amanda Lovato, David L. Olds, Michael S. Kobor, Michael J. Meaney, Kieran O'Donnell, Archer Y. Yang, Celia M.T. Greenwood,A sparse additive model for high-dimensional interactions with an exposure variable. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Volume 179, 2023,107624, ISSN 0167-9473, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2022.107624.
- Allison MA, Tung G, Olds D. Nurse-Family Partnership: Always a Work in Progress in Next Generation Evidence: Strategies for more Equitable Social Impact; Fitzsimmons K, Bauer T Editors. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D, 2023, Available at: https://projectevident.org/next-generation-evidence-the-book/.
- Conti G, Smith J, Anson E, Groth S, Knudtson M, Salvati A, and Olds D. Early Home-Visits and Health in Low-Income Mothers and Offspring: 18-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2024; 7(1):e2351752. Doi:10.1001/jamanetwrkopen.2023.5152
Practice Locations
Hospital Affiliation- Children's Hospital Colorado
Clinical Interests
Professor Olds has focused his career on developing and testing a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers and their children, known as the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). NFP nurses guide pregnant women and parents of young children to improve the outcomes of pregnancy, their children’s health and development, and their economic self-sufficiency, with the goal of reducing disparities over the life-course. Professor Olds spent 20 years developing and testing the NFP in a series of randomized clinical trials before offering it for public investment in 1996 under an initiative sponsored by the US Justice Department.
Care Philosophy
The NFP is the only early childhood program that meets the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy’s “Top-Tier” of evidence; is considered to have the strongest evidence of any intervention that it prevents child maltreatment; and is the only program with evidence that it reduces child fatalities due to abuse and neglect. The NFP trials have served as the primary evidentiary foundation for a $2.3B federal investment in “evidence-based” home visiting. Today, the NFP serves over 33,000 families per day in the US and 18,000 families per day in eight other societies. Professor Olds’ work currently focuses on examining NFP impact on maternal and child health over the life-course; improving the program as it is implemented in community practice; and supporting its adaptation, implementation, and evaluation in international contexts.
Professor Olds has focused his career on developing and testing a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers and their children, known as the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). NFP nurses guide pregnant women and parents of young children to improve the outcomes of pregnancy, their children’s health and development, and their economic self-sufficiency, with the goal of reducing disparities over the life-course. Professor Olds spent 20 years developing and testing the NFP in a series of randomized clinical trials before offering it for public investment in 1996 under an initiative sponsored by the US Justice Department.
Care Philosophy
The NFP is the only early childhood program that meets the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy’s “Top-Tier” of evidence; is considered to have the strongest evidence of any intervention that it prevents child maltreatment; and is the only program with evidence that it reduces child fatalities due to abuse and neglect. The NFP trials have served as the primary evidentiary foundation for a $2.3B federal investment in “evidence-based” home visiting. Today, the NFP serves over 33,000 families per day in the US and 18,000 families per day in eight other societies. Professor Olds’ work currently focuses on examining NFP impact on maternal and child health over the life-course; improving the program as it is implemented in community practice; and supporting its adaptation, implementation, and evaluation in international contexts.