Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 1: Introduction

A systematic review of strategies that increase the recruitment and retention of African American adults in genetic and genomic studies

BACKGROUND

The National Institutes of Health mandates the inclusion of ancestrally diverse populations into federally funded biomedical and clinical trials research. However, low participation of ethnic minorities in genetics-genomics research continues to be one of the most difficult aspects of conducting human subjects research.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review was conducted to document effective recruitment strategies that increase participation in genetics-genomics studies.

METHODS

Extensive literature search strategies were employed to locate and appraise relevant literature reporting original data in which strategies to recruit African American adults into genetics-genomics research studies had been evaluated.

RESULTS

Six studies published up to July, 2011 were included. Informal recruitment strategies for initial contact appeared to have a more positive impact on increasing recruitment and participation numbers than formal mailings of letters and postcards. Another key stratagem identified was participant-recruiter like-ancestry. Other methods such as monetary incentives and support of the research project by community leaders were not as effective.

CONCLUSIONS

Some strategies bolstered recruitment rates while others did not. More research is needed to determine the efficacy of recruitment strategies with African Americans.

Internal working models of parenting: motivations of parents of infants with a congenital heart defect

Drawing on attachment-caregiving theory, we interviewed parents of 24 infants with a complex congenital heart defect (CCHD) about parenting motivations through the first year. Using directed content analysis, 8 categories of motivations, focused either on the baby, the parent-infant relationship, family, self, or tasks were identified at 1, 4 or 6, and 12 months. A matrix of motivations by parent showed family and infant age variations. Motivations illustrated for 5 parents at 1 month suggest that specification of expectations and intentions and clustering of motivations mentioned by a parent would advance study of linkages of parenting internal working models with parenting action.

Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 5: parent-adolescent and teen parent-child relationships

PURPOSE

The purpose of this paper is to examine nursing's contribution to understanding the parent-adolescent and the teen parent-child relationships.

CONCLUSION

Relationships between parents and adolescents may reflect turmoil and affect adolescents' health and development. The social and developmental contexts for teen parenting are powerful and may need strengthening. Several interventions to help teen mothers interact sensitively with their infants have been developed and tested.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurse researchers have begun to provide evidence for practitioners to use in caring for families of adolescents and teen parents to acquire interaction skills that, in turn, may promote optimal health and development of the child.

Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 4: parent-child relationships at risk

PURPOSE

The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize nursing scholarship on parent-child relationships considered fragile because of parent-child's chronic condition or occurrence within a risky context.

CONCLUSIONS

Most reviewed studies demonstrated negative effects of risk conditions on parent-child relationships and documented importance of child, parent, and contextual variables. Studies were predominately single investigations. Varying theoretical perspectives complicated interpretation. Mainly White, middle-class, and small samples limited generalizability. Important areas for further research were identified.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurse researchers identified factors that may interfere with the parent-child relationship. Nurses are in a position to support families under these circumstances.

Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 3: Interaction and the parent-child relationship--assessment and intervention studies

PURPOSE

This integrative review concerns nursing research on parent-child interaction and relationships published from 1980 through 2008 and includes assessment and intervention studies in clinically important settings (e.g., feeding, teaching, play).

CONCLUSIONS

Directions for research include development of theoretical frameworks, valid observational systems, and multivariate and longitudinal data analytic strategies.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Observation of social-emotional as well as task-related interaction qualities in the context of assessing parent-child relationships could generate new questions for nursing research and for family-centered nursing practice.

Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 2: Grasping the early parenting experience--the insider view

PURPOSE

The purpose of this integrative review is to systematically and critically synthesize nursing scholarship on parents' perspectives of the parent-child relationship during infancy.

CONCLUSION

Research has shown that the process of establishing the parent-child relationship is highly individualized and complex. Numerous barriers and facilitators influencing this relationship have been identified that are relevant to nursing.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurses have an important opportunity to positively affect the developing parent-infant relationship. Screening parents for depression and providing parents with resources and support are key nursing interventions supporting the parent-infant relationship.