DO PARENTS UNDERSTAND MEDICAL INFORMATION IN PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS? A PROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER STUDY

Objectives: To evaluate parents’ understanding of the medical information they receive when their child is admitted to a pediatric emergency department and to identify factors likely to affect this understanding.
Methods: Thirteen pediatric emergency departments each recruited 30 consecutive patients for a prospective multicenter study based on questionnaires with closed-ended questions. The parents and doctors completed separate self-completed questionnaires. Understanding was evaluated on the basis of four items included in the questionnaire: the indication for emergency admission, diagnosis, treatment received and seriousness of the child’s condition.
Results: This study included 380 patients. We found that 55% of the parents understood the reason for hospitalization, 78% understood the diagnosis, 92% understood the treatment, 48% understood the seriousness of the condition and 19% understood all four items. The mean number of items understood was 2.76 [SD 0.87]. Parents whose children were not in pain on arrival at the emergency department and parents who received additional information from the child’s nurse showed higher levels of understanding, respectively p=0.006 and p=0.004. Parents considering the information received to be clear also showed a better level of understanding (p=0.001).
Conclusion: This study shows that clearer information is required for the parents of children admitted to emergency departments. Assistance from nurses and optimal pain management are essential to improve this communication.