What parents of mentally ill children need and want from mental health professionals.

Full Abstract

Child psychiatric hospitalization is a time of crisis for the parents of a child with a mental disorder. Prior to hospitalization, the child's problematic behavior has escalated. Parents have various types of contact with mental health professionals prior to, during, and after the hospitalization, which influence their ability to care for their child. This paper reports a qualitative descriptive study of what parents need and want from mental health professionals during this time frame. During the study, parents spontaneously talked about what they needed and wanted from mental health professionals, including nursing personnel. The perspectives of 38 parents of 29 hospitalized children were obtained through interviews. Parents identified needing informational, emotional, and instrumental support most often in the interviews. Specific examples from the data are included in this report.

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Author information

Author/s: Scharer, Kathleen (K);

Affiliation: College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA. kathleen.scharer(-atsign-)sc.edu

Grants: P30NRR05042 (Agency:NINR NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Issues in mental health nursing (Issues Ment Health Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Sep; vol 23 (issue 6) : pp 617-40

Dates: Created 2002/09/09; Completed 2002/10/09; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12217225, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Attitude to Health
Child
Child Psychiatry - organization & administration
Child, Hospitalized - psychology
Child, Preschool
Communication
Female
Humans
Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data

Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data
Male
Mental Disorders - psychology; therapy
Middle Aged
Needs Assessment
Nursing Methodology Research
Parents - education; psychology
Professional-Family Relations
Questionnaires
Social Support

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