Parental experiences and preferences as participants in pediatric research conducted in the emergency department

Factors Influencing Parental Willingness to Consent to a Survey Study for Patients in the Pediatric Emergency Department

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors that impact parental willingness to consent to research studies conducted for their children during visits to pediatric emergency departments (EDs).

METHODS

Parents and guardians of children receiving care in our pediatric ED were approached and asked if they would be willing to let their child participate in a research study requiring the child to complete an electronic questionnaire. No such questionnaire existed, however, because the primary purpose was to ascertain the parent's willingness to let their child participate. All parents were debriefed and informed of the true purpose of the study and asked to complete a survey themselves to help understand factors that influenced their initial decision of whether to consent. Bivariate tests and logistic regression were used to evaluate unadjusted and adjusted associations between parent and patient characteristics and parental consent decision.

RESULTS

We approached 431 eligible parents about the hypothetical research study involving their children, and 386 (89.6%) consented for their children to participate. After the debriefing, 392 (91.0%) parents consented to complete the parental survey. We observed statistically significant associations between shorter length of ED stay to approach for consent for the study ( P = 0.048) as well as longer travel time ( P = 0.03) and willingness to consent in bivariate analysis, though this did not hold in regression analysis. Regression analysis revealed parents of children who have previously participated in research had 79 times lower odds of consenting to participate in our study adjusted for parent race, ethnicity, actual and perceived length of stay, travel time to the ED, and altruism.

CONCLUSIONS

A high proportion of parents consented to their child participating in research in our ED with previous child participation in research being associated with lower odds of parental consent even when adjusted for other factors. Our findings may inform future research practices and studies investigating parental perceptions and motivations surrounding research studies.

Parents' experiences of care in a paediatric emergency department: A phenomenological inquiry

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to provide a rich description of the lived experiences of parents whose child had received care in a new paediatric emergency department.

PROCEDURES

A descriptive phenomenological design was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 parents. Participants were asked to describe their experience of having a sick or injured child treated at the paediatric emergency department, recounting the story of their journey from when their child was first sick or injured, through to their experience within the emergency department, until discharge home. Data were analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological approach.

FINDINGS

Following analysis, six themes emerged: I can't imagine my life without her; Keeping me up to date with what was happening; They treated my child in a way that was toddler friendly; They had our child's best interest at heart; We were working as a team; and There are games and books in the waiting room.

CONCLUSION

The findings demonstrated that parents' experience of having an ill or injured child treated by the paediatric emergency department was a positive experience and highlighted factors that contributed to this experience. These included open communication, competent and skilled staff, being seen in a timely manner and being cared for in a thorough, family inclusive and child-friendly way.