Parental knowledge regarding lifelong congenital cardiac care

To assess parental knowledge regarding lifelong congenital cardiac care (LLCCC).

National guidelines recommend that nearly 50% of adult survivors with congenital heart disease (CHD) receive LLCCC; the number of adults who receive such care seems far less. Inadequate parental knowledge of LLCCC might contribute to care interruption.

In this multicenter study, we administered a questionnaire to parents of children with moderate and complex CHD to assess knowledge of LLCCC.

A total of 500 parents participated; the median age of their children was 10 years (range: 2-18 years). Most parents (81%) understood that their child would need LLCCC, but only 44% recognized that their child's cardiology care should be guided by an adult congenital heart specialist in adulthood. More than half (59%) of the parents stated that their current cardiology team had never spoken to them about LLCCC, but 96% wished to learn more. Variables associated with parental LLCCC knowledge included previous discussions regarding LLCCC, underlying cardiac surgical diagnosis, and level of parental education.

A substantial number of parents of children with moderate and complex CHD lack knowledge about LLCCC, but almost all of them have a desire to learn more about the care their child will need as an adult.