Peer-reviewed article
The Support Needs of Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study Based on the Nurturing Care Framework
Fei Li, Qinling Li, Qiao Shen, Xin Zhang, Hongyao Leng et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study explored the support needs of parents caring for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 2-6 years in Chongqing, China. Fourteen parents were interviewed between July and November 2023, and their responses were analysed using directed content analysis. The study identified five key areas where parents need support: access to health and autism-related information, help maintaining their own physical and psychological wellbeing, training in individualised caregiving skills, connection to multi-agent social support networks, and access to high-quality coordinated services. The findings suggest that future family support programs should prioritise health education, parental empowerment, and psychological support, and should establish cross-departmental coordination mechanisms.
Key points
- Parents of children with autism have five main categories of unmet needs: knowledge acquisition, personal wellbeing, caregiver skills training, social support networks, and access to coordinated services
- Health education, parental empowerment and psychological support should be prioritised in future family support programs
- Establishing cross-departmental coordination mechanisms and multi-agent social support networks is essential for supporting families
- The study was conducted with 14 parents of 2-6-year-old children with autism in Chongqing, China
- Results reported according to COREQ guidelines for qualitative research
Limitations
This qualitative study captures the perspectives and experiences of only 14 parents in one Chinese city, so findings may not be generalizable to other settings or regions. The study does not evaluate the effectiveness of any specific intervention, so it cannot tell us which support strategies would be most impactful or how to prioritise resource allocation.
Abstract
AIM: To explore the support needs of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China under the guidance of the nurturing care framework (NCF). DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study design was used. METHODS: Fourteen parents of 2-6-year-old children with autism were recruited for face-to-face individual interviews in Chongqing between July and November 2023. NVivo 12.0 software was used to manage the data, and a directed content analysis was performed to extract themes. RESULTS: Five nurturing care needs of parents of children with autism were extracted, including acquisition of health- and disorder-related knowledge and information, maintenance of psychological and physical wellbeing, desire for individualised caregiver skills training, creation of multi-agent social support network, and accessibility of high-quality and coordinated services. CONCLUSION: Parents of children with autism have multidimensional unmet nurturing care needs. It is crucial to address these needs and develop targeted family support programs with consideration of the extracted need components. IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: This study implies that health education, parental empowerment and psychological support should be prioritised in future family support programs. The findings also emphasise the importance of establishing a cross-departmental coordination mechanism and building a multi-agent social support network for families of children with autism. IMPACT: This study expands our understanding on the support needs of families of children with autism and enriches the theoretical connotation of nurturing care framework, and the results may inform the development of tailored support programs for families of children with autism in China. REPORTING METHOD: The results are reported in accordance with the reporting guidelines of the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ). PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient and public contribution.