title: Identifying the mental health needs of preschool children.
abstract: The city of Chicago offers publicly funded preschool education to 20,000 3- and 4-year-olds through its State Pre-Kindergarten program. The students attend some 300 schools, and their health needs are monitored by 11 nurses and 8 aides. In the last several years, the nursing coordinator recognized the need to improve the mental health assessment skills of the school nurses. To that end, a relationship was developed with a child psychiatric nurse who had expertise in assessing young children's behaviors, particularly in the context of the classroom milieu. The collaboration of the school nurse and mental health nurse-consultant was structured as one-on-one sessions, each focusing on a particular child. A case is presented to illustrate the assessment method and accompanying suggestions for early intervention strategies. The case also points out how school nurses can structure assessments of at-risk children that lead to classroom-based interventions.
authors.affiliation: Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Delaney
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belmonte-Mann
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012573:School Nursing; D013997:Time Factors