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Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates.

Publication ,  Conference
Barks, MC; Schindler, EA; Ubel, PA; Jiao, MG; Pollak, KI; Huffstetler, HE; Lemmon, ME
Published in: Patient Educ Couns
March 2022

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterize the use and impact of assessments of understanding in parent-clinician communication for critically ill infants. METHODS: We enrolled parents and clinicians participating in family conferences for infants with neurologic conditions. Family conferences were audio recorded as they occurred. We used a directed content analysis approach to identify clinician assessments of understanding and parent responses to those assessments. Assessments were classified based on an adapted framework; responses were characterized as "absent," "yes/no," or "elaborated." RESULTS: Fifty conferences involving the care of 25 infants were analyzed; these contained 374 distinct assessments of understanding. Most (n = 209/374, 56%) assessments were partial (i.e. okay?); a minority (n = 60/374, 16%) were open-ended. When clinicians asked open-ended questions, parents elaborated in their answers most of the time (n = 55/60, 92%). Approximately three-quarter of partial assessments yielded no verbal response from parents. No conferences included a teach-back. CONCLUSIONS: Although common, most clinician assessments of understanding were partial or close-ended and rarely resulted in elaborated responses from parents. Open-ended assessments are an effective, underutilized strategy to increase parent engagement and clinician awareness of information needs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians hoping to facilitate parent engagement and question-asking should rely on open-ended statements to assess understanding.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Patient Educ Couns

DOI

EISSN

1873-5134

Publication Date

March 2022

Volume

105

Issue

3

Start / End Page

599 / 605

Location

Ireland

Related Subject Headings

  • Public Health
  • Professional-Family Relations
  • Parents
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Critical Illness
  • Communication
  • 4203 Health services and systems
  • 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Barks, M. C., Schindler, E. A., Ubel, P. A., Jiao, M. G., Pollak, K. I., Huffstetler, H. E., & Lemmon, M. E. (2022). Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates. In Patient Educ Couns (Vol. 105, pp. 599–605). Ireland. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.06.013
Barks, Mary C., Emma A. Schindler, Peter A. Ubel, Megan G. Jiao, Kathryn I. Pollak, Hanna E. Huffstetler, and Monica E. Lemmon. “Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates.” In Patient Educ Couns, 105:599–605, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.06.013.
Barks MC, Schindler EA, Ubel PA, Jiao MG, Pollak KI, Huffstetler HE, et al. Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates. In: Patient Educ Couns. 2022. p. 599–605.
Barks, Mary C., et al. “Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates.Patient Educ Couns, vol. 105, no. 3, 2022, pp. 599–605. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.pec.2021.06.013.
Barks MC, Schindler EA, Ubel PA, Jiao MG, Pollak KI, Huffstetler HE, Lemmon ME. Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates. Patient Educ Couns. 2022. p. 599–605.
Journal cover image

Published In

Patient Educ Couns

DOI

EISSN

1873-5134

Publication Date

March 2022

Volume

105

Issue

3

Start / End Page

599 / 605

Location

Ireland

Related Subject Headings

  • Public Health
  • Professional-Family Relations
  • Parents
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Critical Illness
  • Communication
  • 4203 Health services and systems
  • 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences