Creating a communication space in the healthcare context: Children's perspective of using the eHealth service, Sisom.

According to the United Nation's Convention of the Rights of the Child, children have the right to participate in their own healthcare and make their opinions heard. The aim of this study was thus to explore the impact of using an eHealth service, Sisom, to gain the children's perspectives during their healthcare appointments. Data were gathered through individual interviews with a purposeful sample of 16 children, aged 6-13 years old, treated for different diseases and using the eHealth service, Sisom, during their healthcare appointments. The interviews were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory. The results showed that using Sisom made children's voice heard by creating a communication space in the healthcare setting. This meant that the children got involved in the communication, were acknowledged as an important person who could give the answers to questions and were given time. Implementing the use of Sisom is a way to make children's needs and preferences explicitly visible for decision-making in practice and thereby supporting the further development of child-centred care in practice.

Interprofessional teamwork in Swedish pediatric cardiology: a national exploratory study.

This paper aims to describe the nature of pediatric cardiology teams (PCTs) based in Sweden through the use of a mixed methods approach. Questionnaires examining issues about the organization/ways of working, functions/tasks and attitudes were answered by 30 PCTs. Focus group interviews were conducted with six PCTs, selected purposefully by size and location, and information on experiences and attitudes on interprofessional teamwork was explored in depth. Results from the quantitative indicated that in 17 of the teams, where the nurse acted as the central coordinator, there was a positive attitude to the value of teamwork. In the interviews, different problems and needs of improvements were mentioned regarding structure, leadership, presence of physicians in the team as well as the team's mandate. All of the participants, however, agreed that interprofessional teams were required to manage the complexity of the children's care. In conclusion, this study suggests that PCTs need further support to develop structure, leadership and coordination of resources to function in a more effective manner. National plans or recommendations that mandate the organization and working methods of PCTs would be helpful for the ongoing development of PCTs in Sweden.

Breaking bad news: an interview study of paediatric cardiologists.

UNLABELLED: Technical developments in paediatric cardiology over the last few decades have increased expectations on professionals, demanding of them more emotional competence and communicative ability. The aim of this study was to examine the approach of paediatric cardiologists in informing and communicating with the family of the patient. METHOD: A qualitative interview method was first tested in a pilot study with two paediatric cardiologists. There were nine subsequent semi-structured interviews that were carried out with paediatric cardiologists. A researcher performed all the interviews, which were taped, transcribed, decoded, and analysed. RESULTS: Among paediatric cardiologists, how to break bad news to the family is an important concern, evident in findings regarding the significance of trust and confidence, the use of different emotional positions, and a common ambition to achieve skills to handle the situation. There is a need for reflection, education, and sharing of experiences. The cardiologists desire further development of teamwork and of skills in medical students and residents for delivering bad news. CONCLUSIONS: Doctors are expected to cope with the complexities of diagnoses and decisions, while simultaneously being sensitive to the feelings of the parents, aware of their own emotions, and able to keep it all under control in the context of breaking the bad news to the parents and keeping them informed. These conflicting demands create a need to expand the professional role of the doctor by including more training in emotional competence and communicative ability, beginning in medical school and continuing through consultancy.

The complexity of the psychosocial situation in children and adolescents with heart disease.

AIM: To describe the psychosocial situation of children/adolescents with heart disease and their families, an inventory method was worked out. METHODS: Ninety-seven children/adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) were graded into three categories with respect to complexity of CHD. Group I included 42 patients with malformations requiring standardized operations. Group II included 20 patients with more complicated malformations, and group III included 35 patients with very complex malformations. The patients were compared with controls without heart disease, matched for age and gender. The psychosocial impact of CHD was measured by the inventory. RESULTS: The most frequent problems in the patient group were healthcare and treatment-related needs (71/97) in the external sphere, family symptoms (68/97) in the interpersonal sphere, and somatic symptoms (19/97) in the personal sphere. Corresponding numbers in the controls were treatment-related needs (15/97), family (9/97) and somatic symptoms (25/97). Fifty per cent of the symptoms in the patient groups were mild, 30% moderate and 20% severe. The most severe symptoms were found in the interpersonal sphere, where family symptoms constituted the most severe variable. The frequency of severe problems in the personal sphere was 11% in the patients and 1% in the controls. This inventory method differentiates the grades of medical complexity both regarding number and severity of psychosocial symptoms. It indicates severe personal problems in the most complex group and shows that they have severe personal problems independent of family problems. CONCLUSION: This study elucidates the psychosocial complexity in children/adolescents with CHD, which has clinical implications in developing a psychosocial care programme.