Parental understanding of the consequences of pediatric cardiac transplantation.
Pediatric cardiac transplantation has profound medical, social, psychological and economic consequences. Parents need to understand both the medical and non-medical consequences of the transplant procedure to make a judicious decision about this treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the parental understanding of the multiple consequences of transplantation. A prospective ethnographic method was used to study 24 parents of 15 children prior to their decision to accept or reject the transplant option for their children. Findings revealed that the medical consequences of transplantation were well addressed by the pediatric cardiac transplant team. Little attention, however, was given to the non-medical concerns of the parents. The importance of nursing interventions related to information clarification and support for parents as they make decisions about heart transplantation for their children was identified.
Higgins
S S
SS
University of San Francisco School of Nursing, Children's Hospital Oakland, CA 94117-1080, USA.
Kayser-Jones
J
J
Savedra
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016294:Models, Nursing; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires