Abstract
In Japan, according to the “Law to Support Persons with Developmental Disabilities” and the project “Healthy Parents and Children 21 (Second Phase),” every prefecture, city, and town needs to identify children affected by developmental disorders and provide support to these children and their parents as early as possible. Public health nurses (PHNs) are responsible for the early detection of cases and complete a diverse range of tasks relating to screening and supporting procedures. The number of children who are waiting to receive specialized medical care in institutions is increasing. Furthermore, the demands for expert personnel such as child psychiatrists, child psychologists, occupational therapists, as well as the establishment of more specialized institutions, are escalating. Various professionals encounter many challenges in identifying children affected by developmental disabilities and in providing effective treatments. Rehabilitative care for children with developmental disorders may be applied to developmental support as for other normal children. It is necessary to promote the skills of professionals relating to maternal and child care. Hence, this study aimed to identify the difficulties experienced by PHNs in providing early care to children with developmental disorders, and to examine ways to improve their performance in the future
Highlights
identify children affected by developmental disorders
Various professionals encounter many challenges in identifying children affected by developmental disabilities
Rehabilitative care for children with developmental disorders may be applied to developmental support
Summary
In Japan, according to the “Law to Support Persons with Developmental Disabilities” and the project “Healthy Parents and Children 21 (Second Phase),” every prefecture, city, and town needs to identify children affected by developmental disorders and provide support to these children and their parents as early as possible. This study aimed to identify the difficulties experienced by PHNs in providing early care to children with developmental disorders, and to examine ways to improve their performance in the future. All nine PHN participants were female and the mean age was 36.3 years (yr) with a standard deviation (SD) of 8.8.The mean years of experience as a PHN was 10.6 yr (SD = 8.2), and all were involved in providing health care to children and their parents. The PHNs each reflected upon one case in which they had experienced difficulties in providing supportive care. Of these cases, five were associated with medical examinations, and four of these had involved children who were identified as requiring support at one and half (1.5) years of age. The second is acknowledging difficulties during the critical period in Copyright © All rights are reserved by Kenan Kaya
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