Parental stress tied to perceived clinician miscommunication: 4 notes

A recent study found that high stress levels in parents of hospitalized children were linked to perceived miscommunication from clinicians.

The study, published Nov. 1 in the American Journal of Critical Care, surveyed 200 parents of children admitted to a Philadelphia-based pediatric ICU for stays exceeding 24 hours between Jan. 1, 2018, and Feb. 29, 2020. Among the 210 children hospitalized, 38.6% were admitted due to respiratory illness and 51% were experiencing their first admission.

Here are four findings from the study:

  1. Miscommunication in the PICU was reported by 16.5% of parents.

  2. Receiving inconsistent information was reported by 15.5% of parents, while 11.5% experienced communication problems and 5% reported being given false or inaccurate information.

  3. Parents' stress, their view of clinician communication, their trust in physicians and the length of stay accounted for 45% of the explained variance in parent-perceived miscommunication.

  4. Perceived miscommunication was also associated with higher perceived acuity of the child's condition and lower scores for family functioning.

"Recognizing that parental stress is linked to perceptions of miscommunication can impact how clinicians help parents navigate their child's critical illness and hospital stay," study co-author Jesse Wool, PhD, MBE, RN, an assistant professor at M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University in Philadelphia, said in an American Association of Critical-Care Nurses news release. "Inconsistency among clinicians may contribute to miscommunication, reduce trust from parents and complicate the decision-making process."

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