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Do parents implement pediatric neuropsychological report recommendations?
John Elias1, Eric Zimak2, Andrea Sherwood2
1Neuropsychology Service, Baylor Scott & White Health, Round Rock, TX, USA.
Insights
Parent-reported implementation rates for pediatric neuropsychological recommendations were explored. School and home recommendations were more frequently implemented than medical ones, with barriers including cost and time.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neuropsychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Child Development
Background:
- Pediatric neuropsychological evaluations provide crucial recommendations for children's care.
- Understanding the implementation of these recommendations is vital for optimizing outcomes.
- Parental perspectives on recommendation adherence are essential for clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parent-reported implementation rates of medical, home/community, and school recommendations after pediatric neuropsychological evaluations.
- To identify demographic differences in recommendation implementation.
- To explore barriers encountered in implementing these recommendations.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 55 parents of children and adolescents who underwent outpatient neuropsychological evaluations.
- Data collected via phone interviews 4-6 months post-evaluation, focusing on recommendation implementation.
- Analysis of implementation rates across different recommendation types and demographic groups.
Main Results:
- Overall implementation rate of 52% for all recommendations.
- Higher implementation for school (62%) and home/community (53%) recommendations compared to medical (40%).
- Significantly lower implementation in low-income households, particularly for medical recommendations; barriers included time, resources, ambivalence, and resistance.
Conclusions:
- Findings offer insights into pediatric neuropsychological recommendation implementation rates and influencing factors.
- Identified disparities based on recommendation type and socioeconomic status highlight areas for targeted support.
- Further research is needed to develop practical strategies for enhancing recommendation adherence.
Objective:
We explored parent-reported implementation rates of medical, home/community, and school recommendations following a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation, as well as demographic group differences in, and potential barriers to, recommendation implementation.
Method:
Participants were 55 parents of children and adolescents who completed an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation in a university-based hospital neuropsychology clinic within 4 to 6 months prior to study participation. Participants were contacted by phone to complete a short interview regarding implementation of report recommendations.
Results:
Slightly over half (52%) of all recommendations were implemented, with higher implementation rates of school (62%) and home/community recommendations (53%) than medical recommendations (40%). Results indicated significantly lower recommendation implementation for households with low income (particularly for medical recommendations). Reported reasons for not implementing recommendations included lack of time, lack of resources (geographical and financial), ambivalence about the need to implement the recommendation, not remembering the recommendation, confusion about how to implement the recommendation, and resistance from schools and teachers.
Conclusions:
The results for this study provide information for pediatric neuropsychologists regarding rates of recommendation implementation, with differences identified based on type of recommendation and demographic factors. Further empirical investigation is indicated in order to determine practical, concrete steps to improve recommendation implementation.
