title: Physician-parent communication in the diagnosis of child handicap: a brief review.
abstract: It is physicians who are often charged with telling families that their child is handicapped. The manner in which that charge is fulfilled has been found to influence family ability to respond to the shock and pain of learning that their child is handicapped and to begin adapting to an altered future. In this review the problems and potential in physician-parent communication in diagnosing child handicap are discussed, in the context of the available literature. Specific strategies, and broader approaches to enhancing physician-parent communication in this difficult situation are outlined.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations