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<p> Parents' participation in the care of their hospitalized child is an integral part of pediatric nursing practice and is considered to be beneficial for children and parents. However, parents may not discuss their participation with nurses and instead base their activities on their perceptions of nurses' assumptions and expectations regarding parents' participation in care. Nurses may assume a gate keeping role regarding parents' participation, deciding what parents will do and then monitoring these activities. Nurses' heavy workloads may preclude the teaching necessary for parents to participate in certain aspects of care. As a result, parents' actual participation in care may be more or less than their desired level of participation. Measuring actual participation alone may thus give an incomplete picture of a family's situation.</p> <p> To date, no attempt has been made to measure the difference between parents' actual and desired participation in care. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to measure parents' actual level of participation in care and their desired level of participation in care, and to describe the congruency between them. Parents of children admitted to medical and surgical units in a tertiary care children's hospital (N = 191) completed two instruments measuring desired and actual participation in care as well as providing demographic data. Study results indicate a difference between parents' actual and desired participation, with the majority of parents expressing a desire to increase their participation. Parents' care activities included providing comfort, assisting with activities of daily living, assisting with mechanical care and advocating for the hospitalized child. Recommendations are made for nursing practice at the bedside, for nursing administration and for future research. Measuring congruency between actual and desired levels of participation can contribute to our understanding of parents' experiences of their child's hospitalization and may provide a unique perspective on parental participation in care.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No / The development in Bradford, England, of specific training materials for parents from Muslim communities of Pakistani origin caring for children with autistic spectrum conditions is outlined, with particular emphasis on challenges arising from non-scientific ‘religious’ explanations for children's conditions and from parents feelings of obligation to ensure that children meet religious requirements. Relevant literature is reviewed and parents’ responses to materials reported and discussed. It is suggested that such parents will benefit from opportunities to explore cultural ideas about causality with each other and with informed and non-judgmental professionals and to share concerns around matters such as washing and prayer.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative inquiry into how parents at the Virginia Tech Child Development Laboratory School in Blacksburg, VA define and attempt to understand their school culture. This study was guided by the following points of inquiry: 1) to understand the ways the parents articulate their conceptualization of the lab school culture, 2) to examine how parents negotiate change in the school, 3) to identify any social, political, and/or historical factors that caused this transformation, and 4) to inform best practice in the school. Participant observation, interviews, a reflective journal, and thematic analysis were used to gain a deeper understanding of this topic. Particular attention focused on social, political, and historical factors that influenced parent understanding of the school culture. Analysis of the interviews conducted with 11 parents who currently have children enrolled in the school and entries from my personal research journal reveal the need for dialogue and careful listening of parents thoughts, beliefs, values, and goals related to the lab school in order to achieve a sense of shared understanding (Bruner, 1990) and intersubjectivity (Vygotsky, 1978) around this notion of our school culture. Suggestions for building a shared culture for learning and teaching involving all the protagonists-- children, parents, teachers, staff -- are discussed. Implications for future research on understanding school cultures are presented for consideration. / Master of Science

En s’appuyant sur un devis qualitatif, ce projet de mémoire avait pour objectif d’explorer comment les perceptions et les attitudes de parents canadiens sont influencées par quatre variations d’un message de promotion de la vaccination contre la rougeole. Ces messages, rédigés dans un format journalistique, différaient selon le type de contenu (narratif et émotif vs factuel) et selon la source d’un témoignage qui y était inclus (provenant d’une mère ou d’un médecin). Quatre groupes de discussion réunissant 28 parents de jeunes enfants ont été réalisés à Québec et à Winnipeg. Les attitudes vaccinales des participants étaient diversifiées : la plupart étaient favorables à la vaccination, certains étaient hésitants ou incertains et un parent avait refusé presque tous les vaccins pour ses enfants. Bien que le projet soit exploratoire, les résultats ont indiqué l’existence d’une interaction entre le type de message et la source du témoignage. Un message factuel dans lequel un médecin témoignait était généralement apprécié, en particulier par une majorité de parents hésitants à la vaccination qui valorisaient l’accès à des informations balancées pour exercer un consentement éclairé. Une histoire narrative et émotive, dans laquelle une mère témoignait au sujet de l’hospitalisation de son enfant non vacciné pour la rougeole, était aussi appréciée par les parents en général. Elle confortait plusieurs parents dans leur décision d’avoir accepté la vaccination et était perçue comme plus marquante. Par contre, deux participants étaient rebutés par l’aspect émotif de ce message et avaient la perception qu’on voulait les manipuler. Des réactions négatives ont aussi été observées par rapport à certains aspects des deux autres messages testés. Ces résultats rappellent l’importance d’évaluer rigoureusement des messages de promotion avant de les diffuser à la population.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act emphasized the importance of parents’ participation in all educational decisions concerning their children with disabilities. However, parents’ ability to actively participate in, and contribute to, their children’s special education process is influenced by a variety of parent and school related factors. For immigrant Latino parents, these factors may include additional issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity not experienced by most parents. This study examined the experiences of immigrant Latino parents when navigating the special education system as well as the impact that such experiences had on parents’ participation in the special education process of their children with disabilities. A researcher-developed survey (Special Education Parent Participation Survey, SPED-PPS) was used to collect the data. Findings indicated that, although about half of the participants were unable to communicate in English with educators, parents still communicated and collaborated often with school personnel. In addition, most immigrant Latino parents trusted professionals working with their children and had a positive perception of school personnel. A minority of parents believed that teachers knew best about their children’s needs, believed that teachers thought that parents interfered too much in their work, and/or felt uncomfortable with having many professionals in the Individual Educational Plan meetings. Immigrant Latino parents’ participation in their children’s special education process appeared to be influenced by the child’s disability as well as parents’ knowledge of the American education system, perception of school personnel, English language communication skills, and ability to confront school personnel about the child’s needs.

Childhood obesity affects children from every socioeconomic level, but there is a higher prevalence of obesity among preschool-age children from low-income families. Some obese children are experiencing symptoms (e.g., high cholesterol and diabetes) generally experienced by adults. As a result, healthcare costs have increased. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand how low-income African American parents contribute to the prevalence of obesity in preschoolers. The conceptual framework and constructs from the health belief model (HBM) guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 8 participants who met the inclusion criteria of being a low-income African American parent with an overweight/obese child living in the Atlanta Region. Creswell's simplified version of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen's data analysis led to the following themes among the participants. The themes were time restraints for preparing a healthy meal and limited activities-playtime, family time, America's childhood obesity, inappropriate diet, and lack of knowledge. Results demonstrated that parents might not understand that a lack of adequate sleep, physical activity, and healthy meals (consumed with parents) contribute to the prevalence of childhood obesity. Positive social change can be achieved through decreased healthcare costs associated with obesity related diseases by implementing the recommended 60 minutes of structured and unstructured playtime activities at learning centers and parents introducing small dietary changes, with healthy choices, which can start preschoolers eating healthier at a young age.

The purpose of my research study was to describe minority parents’ perceptions of how they overcame challenges, sustained involvement, and remained highly involved in their child’s education. Participants’ perceptions were viewed through the theoretical frameworks of appreciative inquiry, positive psychology (Seligman, 1998) and humanistic psychology (Maslow, 1943). A qualitative descriptive multi-case study research design applied appreciative inquiry theoretical research perspective to describe the minority parent’s perceptions of how they overcame challenges, sustained involvement, and remained highly involved in their child’s education. An appreciative inquiry theoretical research perspective centers on the positive core of experiences held by participants. The multiple case study design was selected for utilizing more than one case for evidence and data, thus strengthening the study and increasing its external validity (Yin, 2003). Data were collected through focus groups interviews, and document review. Data were analyzed using pattern matching, the constant-comparative method and CATPAC, a text analysis software designed to show relationships among words. The analyzed data revealed six findings: Six salient findings were derived from my data analysis: (1) Native American and African American parents identified involvement strategies to improve their child’s education; (2) African American parents believed there were issues related to minority relationships within the school and community; (3) Native American and African American parents set expectations for their children; (4) Native American and African American parents expressed pride in their children’s accomplishments; (5) Native American and African American parents linked family values to their role and responsibility as a parent; (6) Native American and African American parents linked teacher care and respect for their child to the child’s success. These findings validate that Native American and African American parents desire to be and can be as successful as any other minority or non-minority parents, at being involved in their children’s education. This group of highly involved parents offered several effective strategies for sustaining involvement in their child’s education. Communication strategies and recognition for what is important in dealing with school personnel has facilitated these parents in their quest to support and help their child through their educational careers. Both Native American and African American parents demonstrated that a belief system centered on the modeling of core and family values, including instilling the value of an education has proven to be effective positive acts for their children and families. A strong, positive, and optimistic belief system as well as a learned ability for effectively interacting with the school system has facilitated these parents in overcoming challenges and obstacles other minority parents often face. I hope that the findings from this study can contribute to furthering an awareness of, and inspiring future research for minority parent involvement in our schools, as well as opening doors to practice and policy changes facilitating the education of children who greatly need to achieve at higher levels in our schools. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). "February 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.