TY - JOUR
T1 - Documenting maternal and childcare information of mothers presented to substance use treatment services
T2 - A qualitative study of reports in a clinical case register
AU - Canfield, Martha
AU - Brown, Ashley
AU - Nelson, Ashley
AU - Downs, Johnny
AU - Gilchrist, Gail
AU - Norton, Sam
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2023/4/1
Y1 - 2023/4/1
N2 - Background: Mothers compose a significant proportion of women in substance use treatment services. These women have needs that, if not addressed, can negatively impact their capacity to parent. This study explores the feasibility of using free-text notes from electronic health records (EHRs) to identify factors that impair mothers' ability to care for their children. Method: This study is a qualitative analysis of EHRs of 50 women attending substance use services in Southeast London who were parents of dependent children (defined as mothers of children aged <18 years independent of living together). We developed a sampling stratification process to ensure an adequate volume of data were available and analyzed per case. The study identified and tested search terms. We extracted data from clinical notes and letters of communication with other services/agencies (free-text notes) using the identified search terms and conducted deductive thematic analysis. Results: The mean number of documents per case was 92.17 (SD = 18.51). The study identified five themes with subthemes: childcare arrangements, family context, safeguarding issues, factors that might impact the treatment plan and care of the child, and communication between the health care and child welfare systems. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a novel approach for exploring parenting-related characteristics of mothers in substance use treatment. Despite a range of maternal and childcare-related information available on EHRs, the type of treatment and support being offered to patients in response to the reported information is less well documented. Findings highlight the need for further investments in implementing effective family centered strategies within substance use services.
AB - Background: Mothers compose a significant proportion of women in substance use treatment services. These women have needs that, if not addressed, can negatively impact their capacity to parent. This study explores the feasibility of using free-text notes from electronic health records (EHRs) to identify factors that impair mothers' ability to care for their children. Method: This study is a qualitative analysis of EHRs of 50 women attending substance use services in Southeast London who were parents of dependent children (defined as mothers of children aged <18 years independent of living together). We developed a sampling stratification process to ensure an adequate volume of data were available and analyzed per case. The study identified and tested search terms. We extracted data from clinical notes and letters of communication with other services/agencies (free-text notes) using the identified search terms and conducted deductive thematic analysis. Results: The mean number of documents per case was 92.17 (SD = 18.51). The study identified five themes with subthemes: childcare arrangements, family context, safeguarding issues, factors that might impact the treatment plan and care of the child, and communication between the health care and child welfare systems. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a novel approach for exploring parenting-related characteristics of mothers in substance use treatment. Despite a range of maternal and childcare-related information available on EHRs, the type of treatment and support being offered to patients in response to the reported information is less well documented. Findings highlight the need for further investments in implementing effective family centered strategies within substance use services.
KW - Child welfare
KW - Electronic health records
KW - Free-text
KW - Mothers
KW - Qualitative analysis
KW - Substance use treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173693635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.josat.2023.208972
DO - 10.1016/j.josat.2023.208972
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173693635
SN - 2949-8767
VL - 147
JO - Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment
JF - Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment
M1 - 208972
ER -
