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Does Educational Status Influence Parents’ Response to Bad News in the NICU?
Communication in neonatal intensive care units and the relationship between families and staff have been reported to influence parental mental well-being. Research has also shown an impact of parental educational level on their well-being. However, whether different educational levels result in d...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | PDF Full Text |
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| Summary: | Communication in neonatal intensive care units and the relationship between families
and staff have been reported to influence parental mental well-being. Research has also shown an
impact of parental educational level on their well-being. However, whether different educational
levels result in different reactions to breaking bad news (BBN) by physicians remains unanswered
so far. We therefore examined the impact of parental level of education on their mental state after a
BBN conversation and their relation to physicians. A prospective quantitative survey was conducted
amongst 54 parents whose preterm or term infants were hospitalized in three German neonatal
units. Parental education was classified as low (lower secondary/less (1), n: 23) or high (higher
secondary/more (2), n: 31). Parents answered questions about certain aspects of and their mental
state after BBN and their trust in physicians. The two groups did not differ significantly in their
mental condition after BBN, with both reporting high levels of exhaustion and worries, each (median
(min;max): (1): 16 (6;20) vs. (2): 14 (5;20), (scaling: 5–20)). However, lower-educated parents reported
a lower trust in physicians (median (min;max): (1): 2 (0;9) vs. (2): 1 (0;6), p < 0.05 (scaling: 0–10))
and felt less safe during BBN (median (min;max): (1): 15 (9;35) vs. (2): 13 (9;33), p < 0.05). Only
among higher-educated parents was trust in physicians significantly correlated with the safety and
orientation provided during BBN (r: 0.583, p < 0.05, r: 0.584, p < 0.01). Concurrently, only among
less-educated parents was safety correlated with the hope conveyed during BBN (r: 0.763, p < 0.01).
Therefore, in BBN discussions with less-educated parents, physicians should focus more on giving
them hope to promote safety. |
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| Item Description: | Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg. |
| DOI: | 10.3390/children10111729 |