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Do parents understand the medical information provided in paediatric emergency departments? A prospective multicenter

Hélène Chappuy1, Pierre Taupin, Jérôme Dimet

  • 1Université Paris Descartes, Service d'Urgences Pédiatriques, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France. helene.chappuy@nck.aphp.fr

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|July 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Parents often struggle to understand critical medical information regarding their child's emergency department hospitalization. Improving communication clarity, especially with nurse assistance and effective pain management, is crucial for better comprehension.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Health Communication
  • Patient Comprehension

Background:

  • Understanding medical information is vital for parents during a child's emergency department (ED) hospitalization.
  • Gaps in parental comprehension can impact adherence to treatment and overall care.
  • Assessing parental understanding is key to identifying areas for communication improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate parental understanding of medical information provided during a child's ED stay.
  • To identify factors associated with poor comprehension of hospitalization details.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, multicenter study involving 380 parents across 13 pediatric EDs.
  • Parents and physicians completed questionnaires on reasons for hospitalization, diagnosis, treatment, and condition severity.
  • Concordance between parent and physician responses was assessed.

Main Results:

  • Overall concordance on all four items was low (19%). Highest concordance was for treatment (92%), lowest for condition seriousness (48%).
  • Parents of children not in pain and those receiving additional nurse information showed slightly higher concordance.
  • Mean number of concordant items was 2.76.

Conclusions:

  • Significant improvements are needed in the clarity of medical information given to parents in pediatric EDs.
  • Enhanced communication strategies, including nurse involvement and effective pain management, can improve parental understanding.
  • Addressing comprehension deficits is essential for better pediatric patient care.
Abstract

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