Objective: This paper will discuss findings from the national KySS (Keep your children/yourself Safe and Secure) survey by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), which specifically tapped knowledge about common pediatric and adolescent mental health issues (e.g., depression, substance abuse, and sexual risk-taking).
Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey of children/teens, parents, and healthcare providers from 24 states.
Population: Eligibility included children and adolescents between the ages of 10 to18 years and their parents, recruited mainly from primary healthcare practices. Healthcare providers surveyed included pediatric nurse practitioners, pediatricians, family practice physicians, and physician assistants. The final sample consisted of 621 children/teens, 603 parents, and 690 healthcare providers.
Concept: The knowledge portion of the KySS survey was devised to assess the knowledge base of children, parents, and healthcare providers regarding common pediatric and adolescent mental health/psychosocial problems. This type of knowledge is an important first line strategy to promote early screening, intervention, and referral if needed to prevent negative mental health outcomes in child development.
Methods: Subjects indicated their agreement with each of the 60 knowledge statements on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).
Findings: Overall, findings demonstrate that there are large deficiencies in knowledge for all groups. Children answered a mean of 44% of the knowledge items correctly with parents and healthcare providers answering 54% and 64% of the knowledge items correctly, respectively. The highest areas of knowledge deficiency were related to: sexual risk-taking behaviors, substance abuse, the effects of divorce on children, and violence.
Implications: There is an urgent need to educate healthcare providers as well as parents and children about common pediatric and adolescent mental health/psychosocial problems. This knowledge will enable them to recognize early signs of emotional dysfunction and risk-taking behaviors so that earlier evaluation and intervention can occur.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003