Asian Nurs Res.  2013 Mar;7(1):16-25.

An Exploratory Study of Parents' Perceived Educational Needs for Parenting a Child with Learning Disabilities

• Chien WT
• Lee IY

Abstract

PURPOSE
This exploratory, qualitative study was conducted to explore Chinese couples' perceived educational needs for parenting a child with specific learning difficulties (SLD).
METHODS
We recruited a purposive sample of 25 couples who were caring for a child with SLD at home from one regional child mental health center in Hong Kong. Data were collected from individual couples via audio-taped, semi-structured interviews between April and June 2011. Each interview lasted for about an hour. We analyzed the interview data using qualitative content analysis, as suggested by Graneheim and Lundman (2004).
RESULTS
Four identified categories of parents' perceived educational needs were information needs for caregiving, a variety of health concerns with themselves and their child, inadequate psychosocial support, and perceived stigma attached to help-seeking. These results reveal challenges and information for mental health professionals in providing effective educational and psychosocial support and culture-specific health care for these families and their children with learning disabilities.
CONCLUSION
Our findings indicate a few important educational needs of parents in caring for a child with SLD that might be underestimated by mental health professionals and teachers, such as psychological support and information needs. To facilitate effective parenting, holistic and individualized needs assessment and education should be provided to address each parent's biopsychosocial and cultural needs in relation to caregiving.

Keyword

Chinese; family health; learning disorders; parenting; qualitative research

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Child
Delivery of Health Care
Family Characteristics
Family Health
Hong Kong
Humans
Learning
Learning Disorders
Mental Health
Needs Assessment
Parenting
Parents
Qualitative Research