Parents’ Perspectives Regarding a Physician-Parent Conference after Their Child’s Death in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Meert, Kathleen L.; Eggly, Susan; Pollack, Murray; Anand, K.J.S.; Zimmerman, Jerry; Carcillo, Joseph; Newth, Christopher J.L.; Dean, J. Michael; Willson, Douglas F.; Nicholson, Carol; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network,

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.01.050

« Previous Next »The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 151, Issue 1 , Pages 50-55.e2, July 2007

Parents’ Perspectives Regarding a Physician-Parent Conference after Their Child’s Death in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Kathleen L. Meert, MD
- From Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
- Reprint requests: Kathleen L. Meert, MD, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien Blvd., Detroit, MI 48201.
Susan Eggly, PhD
- Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, Michigan
Murray Pollack, MD
- Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC
K.J.S. Anand, MBBS, DPhil
- Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas
Jerry Zimmerman, MD, PhD
- Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington
Joseph Carcillo, MD
- Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Christopher J.L. Newth, MB, ChB
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
J. Michael Dean, MD
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Douglas F. Willson, MD
- University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia
Carol Nicholson, MD
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network
- The list of members of the NICHHD Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network is available at www.jpeds.com.

Received 2 October 2006; received in revised form 1 December 2006; accepted 31 January 2007.

Objective

To investigate parents’ perspectives on the desirability, content, and conditions of a physician-parent conference after their child’s death in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Study design

Audio-recorded telephone interviews were conducted with 56 parents of 48 children. All children died in the PICU of one of six children’s hospitals in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN) 3 to 12 months before the study.

Results

Only seven (13%) parents had a scheduled meeting with any physician to discuss their child’s death; 33 (59%) wanted to meet with their child’s intensive care physician. Of these, 27 (82%) were willing to return to the hospital to meet. Topics that parents wanted to discuss included the chronology of events leading to PICU admission and death, cause of death, treatment, autopsy, genetic risk, medical documents, withdrawal of life support, ways to help others, bereavement support, and what to tell family. Parents sought reassurance and the opportunity to voice complaints and express gratitude.

Conclusions

Many bereaved parents want to meet with the intensive care physician after their child’s death. Parents seek to gain information and emotional support, and to give feedback about their PICU experience.

Abbreviations: PICU, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, CPCCRN, Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network

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The study was funded by cooperative agreements from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Department of Health and Human Services (U10HD050096, U10HD049981, U10HD500009, U10HD049945, U10HD049983, U10HD050012 and U01HD049934).

PII: S0022-3476(07)00122-9

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.01.050