Parents’ Views on Child’s Cognitive Skills Affect Healthcare Transition
Summary
This study looked at how parents of children and youth with epilepsy (CYE) view their child's cognitive abilities and how this affects their experiences with moving from pediatric to adult healthcare. Researchers surveyed 66 parents of CYE aged 12 to 18 years across different clinics. They focused on how parents rated their child's cognitive impairment and how well they felt supported by healthcare providers during this important transition.
The results showed that parents who thought their child had mild or severe cognitive issues were less likely to remember receiving help with planning for adult healthcare. These parents also rated their communication with doctors lower than those who felt their child had no cognitive impairment. Additionally, some parents had different ideas about what their child could handle on their own, which did not always match the level of cognitive impairment they reported.
These findings highlight the importance of parent perceptions in the transition to adult healthcare for youth with epilepsy. It suggests that families may benefit from better communication and support from healthcare teams, especially when cognitive challenges are present. However, the study had a small number of participants, which means more research is needed to confirm these results and understand how to best support families during this transition.
