Supporting Parents of Children with Special Healthcare Needs

Course overview

Approximately 20% of all children in the U.S. have a qualifying condition classified as a special healthcare need (Young & Crankshaw, 2021). The term "special healthcare needs" is often interchanged with the term "disabilities." This course will interchange the terms. Caring for a child with special healthcare needs is a full-time job for the parents and continues throughout the child's life. Nurses and social workers are in a unique position to facilitate family coping, navigating complex medical care access and barriers, and being the conduit between the professional healthcare and outside community.