T-19 RaisingaHealthyTween-Ager:ACommunityOutreachOpportunityforPNPsShannanStephenson.RN,MSN,CPNP,PMHS

Background:

Earlyadolescentsareathighriskfordevelopingproblembehaviorssuchasschoolfailure,substanceuse,violence,pregnancy,andsuicidality.Effectiveparentinghasbeenshowntobeaprotectivefactorforyouthgoingthroughthetransitionofearlyadolescence.Interventionresearchindicatesthatskillstrainingprogramsforparentscansignificantlybringaboutimprovementsinparentingpracticesandasaresultcanreduceyouthproblembehaviors.Agapexistsbetweeninterventionresearchfindingsandaccessibleeducationalprogrammingtargetedtowardparents.Asspecialistsinhealthpromotion,PediatricNursePractitionersareinanidealroletofillthisgapintheircommunities.

Aim:

Theaimofthispracticeinnovationwastoprovideabrief,accessible,replicableprogramforparentsofearlyadolescents.Theprogrameducatesparentsaboutnormalearlyadolescentdevelopment,signsofaproblem,howtogethelp,whattodoincaseofbullyingorsuicidalityandhowtobeaneffectiveparent,includingprovidingloveandattention,strengtheninggoodbehaviors,balancingclosenessandindependence,improvingcommunication,andprovidingstructureandguidance.

ProjectDescription:

Theprogramconsistsofa1hour,interactive,PediatricNursePractitionerledPowerPoint®presentationavailableinEnglishandSpanish,aneducationalbrochureavailableinEnglish,Spanish,MandarinandTagalog,aprogramflyer,evaluationform,andproposalletter(usedtosolicitinterestintheprogramfromlocalmiddleschooladministrators),andalistofbookstobegivenawayduringthepost-presentationraffle.Themiddleschoolsthathostpresentationsprovide:advertising,presentationequipment,atranslatorandrefreshments.

Outcome:

Sevenpresentationsweregivenat3middleschoolsbetweenMarch2010andApril2014.Atotalof131parentscompletedthepost-programevaluation.Accordingtoour4pointLikertscale,thevastmajorityofparents“AgreeorStronglyAgree”thatthey1)Learnedinformationthattheycoulduse(98%);2)Haveabetterunderstandingofnormaltween-agedevelopmentandbehavior(100%);3)Willfeelmorecomfortabletalkingwiththeirtween(100%);4)Haveabetterideawhentheyshouldbeconcernedabouttheirchild’sbehavior(99%);5)Knowhowtogethelpiftheyareconcernedabouttheirchild(99%);6)Willrecommendthispresentationtootherparents(100%).Parentsalsoindicatedthattheywouldenjoymorepresentationsabouttopicssuchasdepression,peer-relationships,bullying,andcommunication.Conclusion:

Programevaluationresultsoverwhelminglyindicatedthatparentswouldchangetheirpracticesasaresultoftheprogram.Futureiterationsofthemodelcouldincludeapre-testandpost-testforqualityimprovement,anda2-monthpost-presentationevaluationtomeasuretheeffectivenessoverthatperiod.OurultimategoalistoofferourprogramasaprimaryeducationalmodelthatisaneasilyadaptablepracticeinnovationforallNAPNAPmembers.

Discussionquestion:

WhatcommunityoutreachopportunitiesareavailableforPNPstohelpeaseparentsthroughthetransitionoftheirchildthroughearlyadolescence?

Raising a Healthy Tween-Ager A Community Outreach Opportunity for PNPs

Shannan Stephenson, RN, MSN, CPNP, PMHS Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA

Project Description

Background

References

Between the ages of 10 and 14 years old, early adolescents undergo

many physical, mental and emotional changes. A combination of

these rapid changes and other predisposing factors place them at high

risk for developing problem behaviors such as school failure,

substance use, violence, pregnancy, and suicidality. Effective

parenting that includes healthy parent-child relationships, positive

communication, and parental monitoring has been shown to be a

protective factor for youth going through the transition of early

adolescence. Intervention research indicates that skills training

programs for parents can significantly bring about improvements in

parenting practices and as a result can reduce youth problem

behaviors. A search of the literature revealed a dearth of brief and

accessible educational programs that target improving parenting

practices. Therefore, a gap exists between intervention research

findings and accessible educational programming targeted toward

parents. As specialists in health promotion, Pediatric Nurse

Practitioners are in an ideal role to fill this gap in their communities.

•  Burrus B, Leeks KD, Sipe TA, Dolina S, Soler R, Elder R, Barrios L, Greenspan A, Lindegren ML, Achrekar a, Dittus P, Community Preventative Services Task Force. Person-to-person interventions targeted to parents and other caregivers to improve adolescent health: a community guide systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2012 Mar; 42(3)316-26.

•  Irvine AB, Biglan A, Smolkowski K, Metzler CW, Ary DV. The effectiveness of a parenting skills program for parents of middle school students in small communities. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1999 Dec;67(6):811-25.

•  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services (2007). Promotion and Prevention In Mental Health: Strengthening Parenting and Enhancing Child Resilience, DHHS Publication No.CMHS-SVP-0175. Rockville, MD.

•  United States Department of Education (USDE) (2005). Helping Your Child Through Early Adolescence for Parents of Children from 10 through 14. Washington DC : United States Department of Education, Office of Communications and Outreach. Available:http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/adolescence/brochure.html

Aim

Letter to Schools

The aim of this practice innovation is to provide a brief, accessible, replicable program for parents of

early adolescents and to be available as a community outreach program for PNPs

Outcome Seven presentations were given at 3 middle schools between March 2010 and April 2014. A total of 131 parents from various backgrounds and education levels completed the post-program evaluation. According to our 4 point Likert scale, the vast majority of parents “Agree or Strongly Agree” that they: • Learned information that they could use (98%) • Have a better understanding of normal tween-age development and behavior (100%) • Will feel more comfortable talking with their tween (100%) • Have a better idea when they should be concerned about their child’s behavior (99%) • Know how to get help if they are concerned about their child (99%) • Will recommend this presentation to other parents (100%)

Parents also indicated that they would enjoy more presentations about topics such as depression, peer-relationships, bullying, and communication.

Discussion Program evaluation results overwhelmingly indicated that parents

would change their practices as a result of the program. Future

iterations of the model could include a pre-test and post-test for

quality improvement, and a 2-month post-presentation evaluation

to measure the effectiveness over that period. Our ultimate goal is

to offer our program as a primary educational model that is an

easily adaptable practice innovation for all NAPNAP members.

Acknowledgements National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners – Los Angeles Chapter Executive Board NAPNAP Developmental, Behavioral, Mental Health Special Interest Group (SIG)

Announcement Flyer Post Evaluation The program includes: •  1 hour, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner led, interactive presentation

available in English and Spanish •  Educational brochure available in English, Spanish, Mandarin and

Tagalog •  Program flyer •  Post-presentation evaluation form •  School proposal letter (used to solicit interest in the program from

local middle school administrators) •  List of books to be given away during the post-presentation raffle.

The middle schools that host presentations provide: advertising, presentation equipment, translator and refreshments.