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A Patient Information Leaflet Reduces Parental Anxiety Before Their Child's First Craniofacial Multidisciplinary
Thomas Edward Pidgeon1, Christopher David Blore, Yasmin Webb
1*Department of Plastic Surgery, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge †Birmingham City Hospital ‡Birmingham Children's Hospital §School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University ||Birmingham Children's Hospital Craniofacial Unit, Birmingham, UK.
Insights
Parents attending their child's first craniofacial multidisciplinary team (MDT) appointment experience anxiety. A patient information leaflet effectively reduced parental concerns and provided desired information about the appointment process.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric craniofacial care
- Patient communication strategies
Background:
- Parental anxiety is common before a child's initial craniofacial multidisciplinary team (MDT) appointment.
- Limited data exist on parental concerns and information needs for these appointments.
- The impact of written information on parental anxiety in this context is unstudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify parental concerns and information desires before a child's first craniofacial MDT appointment.
- To develop and evaluate a patient information leaflet for this cohort.
- To assess the leaflet's impact on parental anxiety and information provision.
Main Methods:
- Parents completed questionnaires before and after the introduction of a patient information leaflet.
- The initial questionnaire identified parental concerns and information needs.
- The follow-up questionnaire assessed the leaflet's understandability, helpfulness, and effect on anxiety.
Main Results:
- 65% of parents reported concerns about the appointment, and 86% desired more information.
- 50% specifically requested a patient information leaflet.
- After leaflet distribution, 100% found it easy to understand, 96.7% found it helpful, and 60% felt less worried.
Conclusions:
- Parents of children referred to craniofacial MDT appointments have significant concerns about the appointment process.
- A purpose-designed patient information leaflet effectively addressed these concerns and met information needs.
- The leaflet successfully reduced anxiety for the majority of parents attending craniofacial MDT appointments.
Introduction:
It is expected that a child's first outpatient appointment with a craniofacial multidisciplinary team (MDT) instills anxiety in parents. Limited data exist on the aspects of the appointment that parents are most concerned about and what information they desire. The effect of written information provision on this cohort is unstudied.
Methods:
Parents attending their child's first outpatient appointment with the Birmingham Children's Hospital Craniofacial MDT between September and December 2012 completed a questionnaire to identify concerns they had relating to the appointment. A patient information leaflet was subsequently developed and distributed. From September 2015 to January 2016, questionnaires completed by parents assessed the usefulness of the leaflet and whether it reduced parental anxiety.
Results:
Twenty-six initial questionnaires were returned. Seventeen respondents (65%) reported that they were concerned about some aspect of their child's appointment. Twenty-two (86%) expressed a desire for more information surrounding their child's appointment. Thirteen (50%) requested for this information to be provided using a patient information leaflet. After the introduction of the leaflet, 30 questionnaires were returned. All 30 (100.0%) found the leaflet easy to understand. Twenty-nine (96.7%) felt the leaflet provided helpful information. Eighteen (60.0%) felt less worried about the appointment after reading the leaflet.
Conclusions:
The majority of parents of children referred to a craniofacial MDT appointment displayed concerns that related to the appointment itself. Specific information relating to the appointment process itself was desired. A purpose-built leaflet successfully provided parents with desired information and lowered anxiety among the majority of attendees.
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