Abstract

Purpose: To explore forms of support by public health nurses to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), tailored to the level of parental acceptance of the disorder and local characteristics.
Methods and Design: Descriptive qualitative study was undertaken.
Sample: Nine public health nurses who were providing support to parents of children with ASD participated.
Measurements: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the data identified two themes: (1) current situations of children with ASD, their parents and family, and (2) forms of public health nurses’ support for those parents.
Results: Situations of the children, their parents and family included: (1) parental recognition of signs of ASD in their children, and (2) current levels of parenting support. Forms of public health nurses’ support included: (1) building support systems to assist parental acceptance, (2) support before the parents recognize their children’s ASD, (3) support while the children are using support centers, (4) assistance to enable ongoing support.
Conclusion: Providing support tailored to local characteristics and parents’ values leads to building support systems that help parental acceptance. Educating parents to recognize signs of ASD, mentoring junior nurses, and intervention based on an understanding of the whole family are also important.

Keywords: Public health nurses; Children with ASD; Support for parental acceptance; Local characteristics; Early support; Continuing support; Multi-occupation collaboration