National Guard and Reserve Families: A Parent-Led Educational Intervention

Area of Science:

• Pediatric mental health
• Military family well-being
• Parental education

Background:

• National Guard and Reserve children face unique stressors impacting mental health.
• Early identification of mental health abnormalities is crucial for timely intervention.
• Parental knowledge is a key factor in accessing appropriate care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess an educational module's effectiveness in enhancing parents' ability to identify at-risk children.
• To evaluate the impact of parent-led education on mental health awareness within military families.
• To determine if improved identification translates to changes in service utilization.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post study design was employed with 51 National Guard and Reserve parents.
• Participants were recruited online through various military and social networks.
• The intervention included education on child mental health symptoms and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist 35.

Main Results:

• The educational module significantly increased parents' confidence and knowledge regarding child mental health.
• No significant change was observed in the types of services parents accessed for care.
• All participating children were assessed as being at low risk for mental health abnormalities post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• Parental education is a foundational step in empowering families to manage their children's mental health.
• Targeted interventions can improve parental awareness of mental health issues in military children.
• Further research is needed to bridge the gap between parental knowledge and healthcare access for pediatric mental health.