One Size Does Not Fit All: Discharge Teaching and Child Challenging Behaviors

Abstract

This study compares quality of discharge teaching and care coordination for parents of children with challenging behaviors participating in a nursing implementation project, which used an interactive iPad application, to usual discharge care. Unlike parents in the larger quasi-experimental longitudinal project, parents of children with challenging behaviors receiving the discharge teaching application (n = 14) reported lower mean scores on the quality of discharge teaching scale–delivery subscale ( M = 8.2, SD = 3.1) than parents receiving usual care (n = 11) ( M = 9.6, SD = 4.7) and lower scores on the Care Transition Measure ( M = 2.44, SD = 1.09) than parents receiving usual care ( M = 3.02, SD = 0.37), with moderate to large effects (0.554–0.775). The discharge teaching approach was less effective with this subset, suggesting other approaches might be considered for this group of parents. Further study with a larger sample specific to parents of children with challenging behaviors is needed to assess their unique needs and to optimize their discharge experience.