PEDIATRICS Vol. 91 No. 3 March 1993, pp. 578-582
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Are There Good Ways to Give `Bad News'?

Gloria L. Krahn PhD1, Ann Hallum PhD2, and Cetrelia Kime MA1

1 From the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland
2 From the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, San Francisco State University/University of California San Francisco

There has been considerable speculation about the inevitability of parental dissatisfaction with being informed about their child's disability. Mothers and fathers of 24 infants with a recently diagnosed disability were interviewed regarding their preferences for how to be told the "bad news." Qualitative analyses revealed nine themes of parental preferences for how to communicate difficult information. Parents affirmed communication themes previously discussed in the literature, such as being told early and together, and identified new ones, such as affective tone and physical contact with their baby. The importance of these themes is presented for this sample. Recommendations for how to present "bad news" can be concisely drawn from these findings. Results suggest that parental dissatisfaction with the process of telling is not inevitable.

Key Words: informing interview • diagnosis communication • parental satisfaction • physician training

Submitted on June 15, 1992
Accepted on September 10, 1992




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