Parents Confident About Medical Decisions

Eighty-six percent of U.S. parents said they feel they play a significant role in making medical decisions for their hospitalized child, a survey found.

Lead author Dr. Beth A. Tarini of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital also found that parents who feel confident communicating with physicians — as well as those parents whose child has been previously hospitalized — are more likely to participate in medical decisions.

Tarini and colleagues surveyed parents of children admitted to the general pediatrics ward of a children’s hospital in Seattle during a two-month period. All parents surveyed had children younger than 18, and were given the survey within 24 to 48 hours of admission to the hospital, after the parents had met with physicians and other medical staff to discuss their child’s care.

The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, revealed that parents’ ability to make medical decisions about their child was strongly linked to self-efficacy — or confidence in their ability to interact and communicate with physicians.

The researchers also found that parents of previously hospitalized children were more involved in medical decision-making suggesting that the hospital may be a learned experience for parents.