2008 Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 59-67
The object of the research being the structural clarification of support skills offered by public health nurses (PHNs) to parents and pre-school children with developmental disorders by focusing on the period from the start of support through to the acceptance of the disorder, we conducted a semi-structured interviews. Research participants were eight PHNs working at support centers for people with developmental disorders located within cities, towns and villages across Japan and who possess a wealth of experience in providing support for children with developmental disorders. The method of investigation was based on asking PHNs to recall one case where they provided assistance to a child with developmental disorder in the past five years by providing a description of the background of the case and the type of support offered until the child reached school age. Based on results of our analyses, the support skills offered to families and children with developmental disorders by the PHNs were divided into six categories: "Support for assessing the necessity of support," "Continuous support," "Support promoting the developmental stages of the child," "Support in giving consideration during times of infant health examinations," "Support in the form of problem-sharing with parents until the diagnosis is obtained," and "Support for parents in accepting the disorder." Four characteristics of support provided by PHNs were suggested by the same exercise: 1. Assessing the traits of developmental disorders, 2. Ensuring that the support offered by PHNs does not damage the trust of parents, 3. Deepen the understanding of problems facing the child by parents until a diagnosis has been obtained, and 4. Standing by parents affected by their own inner struggles to support the process of their acceptance of the disorder.
