Parental recall after a visit to the emergency department.
Using exit interviews, we determined parental recall of their child's diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up instructions after a visit to the emergency department (ED). Over 2 weeks, 159 parents were interviewed. Exclusion criteria were: parental language other than Spanish or English, admission, trauma, child abuse, or a primary psychiatric diagnosis. Neither language nor parental satisfaction with communication (reported in 93%) was associated with ability to state the diagnosis correctly (P = NS). Seventy-five percent (88 of 117) of parents of children given a single diagnosis stated it correctly; 55% (23 of 42) of parents of children given multiple diagnoses were able to correctly state them all (P = 0.013). If a single medication was prescribed, 30% (20 of 67) of parents knew its name, while only 13% (four of 31) knew all names of multiple medications (P = 0.070). Of those parents given a single medication, 51% (34 of 67) knew how to administer it, while only 10% (three of 31) knew how to administer multiple medications (P < 0.001). Similarly, 58% (46 of 79) of parents given a single appointment knew the date and place of their child's follow-up, while only 16% (three of 19) given multiple appointments knew all dates and locations (P = 0.001). These data suggest that despite high parental satisfaction with communication, many parents cannot fully recall their child's diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up--especially when multiple diagnoses, medications, or appointments are given.
Department of Pediatrics, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance.
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G
Grover
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Berkowitz
R J
RJ
Lewis
D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D011939:Mental Recall; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations