Behavior Checker® Staff Training for Positive Parenting in Primary Care: Changes in the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences have been associated with an increased risk for various health and mental health challenges in adulthood, which shed new light on positive parenting as important preventive healthcare. Although behavioral parenting interventions have been shown to be effective in promoting positive parenting and reducing harsh discipline, beneficiaries have been limited to parents with identified needs. Lately, primary care has been increasingly recognized as an ideal platform to disseminate evidence-based positive discipline strategies at the population level. Behavior Checker® is a multi-component primary care-based parenting intervention, seeking to maximize the utility of primary care in population-based positive parenting promotion. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Behavior Checker® training on pediatric staff’s perceived knowledge, attitude, and confidence in educating parents about positive discipline strategies. Pre- and post-training surveys were administered to staff who participated in the Behavior Checker® training in a university-affiliated pediatric clinic located in a Midwestern metropolitan region. A paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted to compare pre- and post-training scores in the perceived knowledge and confidence in educating parents about positive discipline strategies to manage common behavioral issues of children. The level of perceived knowledge and confidence significantly increased following staff’s participation in the training. A larger study is warranted.