279 / 492
S22-10
(P)
MULTIDISCIPLINARY CARE IS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR AGAINST UNCERTAINTY
IN PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPINA BIFIDA
Cortney WOLFE-CHRISTENSEN
1
, Patricia BIERWALTES
2
and Yegappan LAKSHMANAN
1
1) Children's Hospital of Michigan, Department of Pediatric Urology, Detroit, USA - 2) Children's Hospital of Michigan,
PM&R, Detroit, USA
PURPOSE
Parental uncertainty exists when a child’s illness is ambiguous, complex, unpredictable, or with unavailable or
inconsistent information. This study was conducted in a multidisciplinary clinic to determine whether this care affects
levels of parental uncertainty.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Parents of children in our multidisciplinary myelomeningocele clinic were recruited during outpatient appointments.
Parents completed Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale. Medical data was abstracted from patients’ charts.
RESULTS
One hundred parents (76 mothers, 24 fathers) of 85 patients (M=9.02+5.28; range:0.5-17) participated. There were no
significant relationships between uncertainty and demographics (all ps>.05), but child age was included as a covariate.
For illness-related factors, number of hospitalizations over the past year was positively correlated with levels of:
ambiguity (p=.009), lack of clarity (p=.028) and information (p=.015), and total level of uncertainty (p=.012). Level of
lesion, mobility status, bladder/bowel continence, number of UTIs or ER visits over the past 2 years, and surgical
procedures were all unrelated to level of uncertainty.
Comparisons to previously published samples of parents of children with spina bifida (N=50) were all significant; with
parents in current sample having significantly lower levels of: total uncertainty, unpredictability, lack of clarity, and lack
of information (all p< .001).
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, parents in our sample reported lower-than-expected uncertainty about their child’s diagnosis. Multidisciplinary
clinic environment appears to protect parents of children with spina bifida from experiencing high levels of uncertainty.
Protecting parents from unnecessary levels of uncertainty can have significant effects on overall psychological
functioning as well as functioning of their children.