182379 Designing Consumer-Informed Interventions for Parents Who Are Homeless or at-RISK for Homelessness

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 3:10 PM

Cheryl Zlotnick, RN DrPH , Center for the Vulnerable Child, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, Oakland, CA
Overview: Being a good parent is challenging in the best of circumstances, but it can be excruciatingly difficult for very low-income families living in transient situations. When mental health clinicians and social workers are asked to provide parenting guidance to families in these difficult living situations, they are informed by their backgrounds, experience and education. But is this enough?

Methods: Using the tenets of community-based participatory research, a consumer-based advisory group created a list of six questions on parenting and convened four focus groups of parents (n=52) living in different transitional living situations. All responses were recorded and transcripts of responses were analyzed using qualitative methods.

Results: All groups reported that a child's behavior and success reflected positive parenting; and all parents expressed concerns about the influences of community violence, peer pressure, technology and the media. However, there was considerable disagreement on the use and effectiveness of corporal punishment as a parenting tool. The negative impact of government, school and other officials on family integrity and parenting effectiveness also were noted.

Discussion: Although rare for middle- and higher-income families, the fear of having one's child removed is a reality for many very low-income parents living in transition. We discuss how this finding and others, gleaned from actual and potential consumers of mental health and case management services, are used to inform effective clinical interventions for families who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the limitations of traditional approaches to providing parenting guidance to families who are homeless or at-risk. List tenets of the community based participatory research methodology that can be used to inform clinical practice.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Homelessness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I designed, organized the implementation of the project, directed the analysis, and am writing up results (with colleagues).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.