Managing parental groups: personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses

Aims and objectives: To investigate the experience and personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses.

Background: During their child's first year, all parents in Sweden are invited to participate in parental groups within the child health service; however, only 49% choose to participate. Despite extensive experience, child healthcare nurses find managing parental groups challenging and express a need for training in group dynamics and group leadership.

Design: The study was designed as a controlled study with a pretest/post-test design where the participants form their own control group.

Methods: A group leadership course was given to 56 child healthcare nurses and evaluated in a pre- and postintervention questionnaire, a course evaluation and an interview with the course leaders.

Results: The child healthcare nurses felt their group leadership skills were strengthened and the majority (96%) felt that the course had changed their way of leading parental groups. They felt that the group leader role had been clarified and that they had obtained several new tools to use in their groups.

Conclusions and relevance to clinical practice: Clarifying the role of group leader and adding knowledge about group leadership and dynamics seems to have increased the self-confidence for child healthcare nurses in group leadership. Improved confidence in group management might motivate the child healthcare nurses to further develop parental groups to attract the parents who currently choose not to participate.