The role of community health nurses in behavioral modification of parents of children

Abstract

• BACKGROUND: Mental health is of great importance in childhood and the foundation of personality of every individual is laid during this period. Moreover, behavioral problems are common in children, and a lot of the individual, familial, and social disorders originate from the fact that these problems are not treated at the right time. More important is that the behavioral problems of children are rooted in the behavior and upbringing of parents. Therefore, we carried out the present study to investigate the role of community health nurses in modifying the behavior of parents whose children have behavioral problems.
• METHODS: This research was a pre- and post-training quasi-experimental study. The study was carried out with the participation of the parents of 44 first-grade primary school children with reported behavioral problems. The instrument used in the study was a self-made questionnaire. The data was analyzed by SPSS software, using descriptive and inferential statistical methods (t-test and repeated ANOVA).
• RESULTS: The mean scores of parents’ behavior before, immediately after, and one month after training exhibited a significant difference in both fathers and mothers (p= 0.04 in fathers and p<0.001 in mothers). Moreover, the mean scores of mothers before and immediately after training and also before and one month after training showed a significant difference (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). However, the mean scores of mothers immediately after and one month after training were not significantly different (p=0.53). Furthermore, the mean scores of fathers before and immediately after training and also before and one month after training were significantly different (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). But, the mean scores of fathers immediately after and one month after training did not show a significant difference (p=0.33).
• CONCLUSIONS: Since the group training of parents led to a change in their behavior towards children, it is advisable to prepare and implement such programs.
• KEY WORDS: Behavioral problems, community health nurse, parents.