Exploring the concept of household chaos for health visiting practice

Household chaos is a contributing factor to many adverse child health and developmental outcomes. Household chaos and the Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (CHAOS), a validated tool to assess household chaos, are not widely considered from a UK perspective, despite there being significant international literature that touches on the concept. The author, a practising health visitor, drawing on personal clinical experience, argues that better understanding of the concept of household chaos and use of the CHAOS tool may enhance professional decision-making and aid communication between families and health and social care professionals. Before implementation, however, development of the health visitor's role in identifying household chaos and research into the suitability of the CHAOS scale for UK clinical practice is required.