No abstract

A card-sort exercise based on the tenets of adult education and Q methodology was developed to offer baccalaureate nursing students an alternative to current approaches to assessing parents' needs for education on home visits. The card sort was designed to facilitate parents' self-diagnosis of learning needs in relation to infant care and postpartum selfcare behaviors; emphasize the importance of parents' role in the assessment process; and promote structured mutuality in home visiting. The technique was field tested on student home visits to new parents and was evaluated as an effective aid for engaging parents in the assessment process.