Lastenneuvolan terveydenhoitajan arvioinnit viisivuotiaiden lasten psyykkisestä kehityksestä

Abstract

The study deals with psychological assessment by public health nurses in the standard health examination of five-year-old children at Finnish child health centres. In the experiment 1138 children were examined by 24 nurses during one year. The nurses filled a data sheet concerning the family and early development of the child on the basis of the standard health records and assessed children using an assessment system prepared for them. Parents filled a questionnaire concerning worries experienced by them in the child's development and upbringing. Considerable variation was found between nurses in the use of the assessment system in the making and recording of observations. About one-fifth of the children and families were evaluated to have need of further psychological measures or intervention. Less than 10 % of the variance in the need for further measures could be predicted from data documented about the family and child before the five-year examination. Many differences between boys and girls were found in worries reported by the parents, children's performances in the assessment system's tasks, need for further measures and predictability. It is emphasized that the development of assessment methods for public health nurses must be based on the main task of the child health centres, i.e. systematic monitoring of children's health and development, and health education with parental guidance in child rearing.