Clinician-parent communication during informed consent for pediatric leukemia trials

To address the need to describe informed consent in pediatric settings and to identify barriers to parent understanding, this study assessed how aspects of clinician-parent communication during the informed consent conference (ICC) relate to parent understanding of informed consent and parent perception of the impact of the ICC on their anxiety and control.

Parents of 127 children with newly diagnosed leukemia who were eligible for clinical trials were the participants. The study used comprehensive methods including both observational and self-report assessment methods.

Structural equation modeling demonstrated that parent race and socioeconomic status (SES) were powerful predictors of clinician-parent communication, parent anxiety and control as a result of the ICC, and parent understanding. Clinician information giving and partnership building predicted parent participation during the ICC.

These findings may be used to design interventions that increase the effectiveness of the ICC by identifying specific elements of the conference that influence parent affect and understanding.