Abstract
Background : In Japan, local governments implement maternal and child health projects for nearly all children in the community through health check-ups and distribution of an information booklet to mothers. Public health nurses (PHNs) working for local governments play an important role in preventing child abuse and neglect. Providing support to high-risk families may require collaboration with nursery school staff (NSS). Our objective was to clarify the activities of PHNs in collaboration with NSS in case management of families at high risk for child abuse and neglect. Methods : Semi-structured interviews of five PHNs working for 3 local governments were conducted. PHNs were asked about their collaboration with NSS in case management for preventing child abuse and neglect. Interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed. The qualitative descriptive research method was used. Results : Four categories of collaboration of PHNs with NSS were identified: 1) Sharing information with NSS to support mothers and their children; 2) Asking NSS to pay careful attention for any evidence of child abuse while caring for the children; 3) Sharing with NSS how to support mothers and their children so that NSS can work free from anxiety; 4) Acting as a bridge among NSS, mothers and other organizations. Conclusion : PHNs encouraged NSS to observe and report suspected child abuse. These results suggested that PHNs take advantage of this monitoring capability of NSS in their activities. Furthermore, it was shown that PHNs encouraged NSS to care for children and to support their mothers as part of the role of nursery schools.
