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Evaluating the Effects of the Empowerment Program for Parents of Adults with High-Functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

We conducted a quasi-experimental study to test the effects of “the empowerment program for parents of adults with autism spectrum disorder” by Kawada and Nojima (J Kochi Women’s Univ Acad Nurs 44(1):43–55, 2018). The program has been developed on the theoretical premises of the family empowerment model and the andragogy model. The subjects were 36 parents of adults with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder; 21 parents in the intervention group, and 15 parents in the control group. Outcome measures were the family empowerment scale (FES) modified by the author, the general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the short form-36 health survey version 2 (SF36-2). The results showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in some items: the FES item of “family,” the GHQ-28 items of “overall” and “anxiety/insomnia,” and the SF36-2 items “vitality” and “mental health.” This program had a positive impact on the improvement of empowerment, mental health condition, and the quality of life of parents.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to my families, participants, and supporters of this study. We would also like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Dr. Hiroko Azechi, Professor at University of Kochi, Dr. Masako Tai, Professor at University of Kochi, Dr. Takashi Okada, Associate Professor at Nagoya University Hospital, and Associate Dr. Takafumi Katayama, Associate Professor at University of Hyogo. The authors would like to thank Junko Nasu, a lecturer in Kyoto University of Advanced Science, and Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language. This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of Nursing, University of Kochi.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Nos. JP18K10285, JP24593509).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hyogo, 13-71 Kitaoji-cho, Akashi City, Hyogo, 673-8588, Japan

    Miwa Kawada

  2. University of Kochi, Kochi, Japan

    Sayumi Nojima

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  1. Miwa Kawada
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  2. Sayumi Nojima
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Contributions

KAWADA: Intervention, Data Collection, Analysis, Discussion. NOJIMA: Analysis, Discussion.

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Correspondence to Miwa Kawada.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This research was carried out with the approval of The Research Ethics Committee of Research Institute of Nursing Care for People and Community, the College of Nursing Art and Science, the University of Hyogo.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kawada, M., Nojima, S. Evaluating the Effects of the Empowerment Program for Parents of Adults with High-Functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health 7, 27–44 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-020-00155-y

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