Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) Program: understanding its impact on the bleeding disorders community

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Hematology
• Parenting Interventions
• Child Psychology

Background:

• Children with bleeding disorders require specialized care and parental support.
• Parenting strategies significantly impact a child's well-being and adherence to treatment.
• The Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) program aims to equip parents with effective tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) program.
• To assess the impact of PEP on parenting techniques used by parents of children with bleeding disorders.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted across eleven hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs).
• 301 participants completed the survey, including parents who attended PEP and those who did not.
• Parents not attending PEP were categorized by their reasons: Not Offered, Bad Time, or Don't Need.

Main Results:

• Parents attending PEP reported reduced use of yelling, spanking, and giving-in.
• The 'Not Offered' group demonstrated less use of positive techniques like Praising and Setting Limits.
• The 'Don't Need' group showed less use of Spanking and Yelling compared to other non-attending groups.

Conclusions:

• Participation in the PEP program appears to decrease the utilization of negative parenting strategies.
• Parents who did not have access to PEP ('Not Offered') utilized fewer positive parenting techniques.
• The PEP program shows promise in enhancing parenting practices for families managing childhood bleeding disorders.