Comparing Perceived Importance and Performance of Infant Mental Health Services as Rated by Graduate Students in the United States and Lithuania
Comparing Perceived Importance and Performance of Infant Mental Health Services as Rated by Graduate Students in the United States and Lithuania

Summary/Abstract: The goal of providing early intervention services is to decrease costs to society by decreasing the need for special services in school and beyond (Carpenter, 2007; Jacob, Hartshorne, 2007). Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the perceived importance of infant mental health services and the perceived performance of these services as provided in the United States and Lithuania. Material and methods. A questionnaire was created by the researcher and comparisons were made for importance and performance as rated by Lithuanian students as compared to that rated by students and practitioners in the United States. Results. Results indicated that both Lithuanian and American respondents rated significant differences between importance and performance of services. When groups were compared, Lithuanian students rated “services provided in the appropriate environment” significantly higher in importance than American respondents. American students and practitioners rated “services being coordinated by a single agency” as being performed signifiantly better than Lithuanian students’ ratings. Conclusion. This study brings awareness to the international differences that exist when providing early intervention services to students. Ankstyvųjų vaikystės intervencijų pagrindinis tikslas yra sumažinti išlaidas, kurios vėliau būtų reikalingos teikiant specialiąsias paslaugas mokyklose ir vėlesniais laikotarpiais (Carpenter, 2007; Jacob, Hartshorne, 2007). Tyrimo tikslas. Šio tyrimo tikslas yra palyginti kūdikių psichikos sveikatos paslaugų svarbos ir jų funkcijų suvokimo skirtumus Lietuvos studentų bei JAV praktikų ir studentų imtyse. Metodika. Tyrime buvo naudojamas straipsnio autorių sudarytas klausimynas. Remiantis surinktais duomenimis buvo palyginta kūdikių psichikos sveikatos paslaugų svarba ir funkcijų suvokimas Lietuvos ir JAV studentų bei praktikų imtyse. Rezultatai. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė gana ženklius kūdikių psichikos sveikatos paslaugų ir jų funkcijų vertinimo skirtumus Lietuvoje ir JAV. Lietuvos studentai, lyginant su JAV studentais ir praktikais, gerokai didesnę reikšmę priskyrė „tinkamoje aplinkoje teikiamoms paslaugoms“. JAV studentai ir praktikai „psichikos sveikatos paslaugas, kurias koordinuoja viena institucija“, buvo linkę vertinti kaip daug kokybiškesnes nei Lietuvos studentai. Išvada. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė tarptautinius skirtumus ruošiant studentus teikti ankstyvas psichikos sveikatos paslaugas.

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