Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Patient, Staff, and Family Education Initiatives
Parent Understanding of Health Information
Carlee R. Lehna, RN, MS, CS, FNP-C, Shriners Burns Hospital, Galveston, TX, USA and Jack L. McNeil, RN, BSN, MHA, CPHQ, Performance Improvement, Shriners Hospitals for Children-Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
Learning Objective #1: identify demographic differences between the two parent groups.
Learning Objective #2: describe differences in understanding of health information between the two parent groups.
Understanding health information may lead to improved follow-up on medical instructions, decreased hospital visits, and decreased health care costs. The majority of research in this area is on determining the readability level of written material. How two different parent groups understand medical care for their child and procedural and research consent forms was the purpose of this qualitative study. Parents, by attending focus groups or through individual interviews, answered the same open-ended questions. An example of a question is “What helped you understand about…? Data analysis occurred through sorting of information into thematic patterns until consensus was achieved by the principle investigators. A five-member interdisciplinary health care group provided critique of the thematic analysis and research process. Results of the study showed that the demographic sample characteristics for English-speaking parents (ESP) (n = 51) were: 41.7 ± 12 years old, 37/14 women/men, and 12 ± 2.15 grades completed. For the Spanish-speaking only parents (SSOP) (n = 32), sample characteristics were: 35 ± 11 years old, 19/9 women/male, and 7 ± 4.1 grades completed. ESP preferred to participate in individual or small group interviews while SSOP attended focus groups. ESP described a primary focus of their understanding as explaining by health-care team members. Watching and doing was a second thematic pattern. For the SSOP, understanding was a complex process with the primary one being watching and doing. As SSOP were trying to understand professionals talk and explain, they may misunderstand information, be afraid, angry, or worried. Identifying how parents understand is the first step in providing effective patient health-care education.

See more of Patient, Staff, and Family Education Initiatives
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)