Date of Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Completion
Spring 4-30-2026
Faculty Advisor
Doncy J. Eapen, PhD, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Abstract
Purpose: Homelessness is a growing public health concern that affects pregnant and parenting young adults, who often experience barriers to healthcare, low health literacy, and limited access to parenting education. These challenges contribute to poor maternal and child health outcomes and reduced parenting confidence. Evidence supports interactive parenting education as an effective strategy for improving parental knowledge and self-efficacy among vulnerable populations (Sheller et al., 2018; Stormacq et al., 2020). This quality improvement project aimed to implement a trauma-informed, evidence-based parenting support program to improve parenting knowledge, promote participant engagement, and overall program satisfaction among young adults experiencing homelessness.
Background: The project was implemented at a homeless shelter in Houston, Texas that serves young adults between the ages 18 and 24 experiencing homelessness. Although, the shelter offered an existing parenting program it predominately focused on behavioral health and lacked a preventative health, health literacy and parenting skills component.
Methodology: The project was implemented using the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework along with the Adult Learning Theory to guide the creation of four interactive pilot sessions. A range of topics were covered such as pregnancy and postpartum changes, child development, safety, immunization, and infant/maternal nutrition. To evaluate progress and knowledge gain, pre and post assessments were used, participants involvement was measured by attendance, and satisfaction was measured using Likert-Scale surveys.
Results: The average knowledge scored improved significantly, with three sessions exceeding the benchmark of 20%. The attendance rate for the participants ranged from 50% to 66%. The level of satisfaction was quite high, with all the participants scoring a 7 out of 7. The major factors that made a positive impact were the active learning methods, text notifications and support of the staff at the shelter. Additional challenges included inconsistent attendance and some incomplete data from assessments.
Implications: The project demonstrated that adopting a structured parenting program tailored to the needs of parents and children can increase knowledge and involvement among young parents living in shelters. Incorporation of the curriculum inro regular shelter services has proven to be an effective and sustainable way to improve confidence in parents’ skill, health literacy and overall wellness. Limitations included a small sample size, and incomplete knowledge assessments. Future efforts could include following participants over time to assess lasting outcomes and implementing the program in other shelter settings.
Keywords
parenting support program, young adults, homelessness, parenting education
Recommended Citation
Je'La T. Smith, "Parenting Support Program for Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract. 237.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dnp_abstract/237