title: A handful of questions. Supporting parental decision making.
abstract: Advances in healthcare have improved the survival rates of children with serious health problems. Parents, relieved that their child is alive, often face the challenge of caring for a child with a chronic illness and must make healthcare decisions that have life-long consequences. Supporting parents through the decision-making process is a complex challenge for the advanced practice nurse. This article offers an original and dynamic decision-making assessment tool to help the advanced practice nurse provide effective evaluation and appropriate support for the parents. This "Handful of Questions" was created using a patient-oriented decision-making model by Pierce and the work of other decision-making researchers. The literature reviewed includes the topics of surrogate parental decision making and an examination of the relationship between the decision-maker and healthcare providers.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Lung Center, Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Claassen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing; D003657:Decision Making; D022143:Family Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012944:Social Support