BMJ  2007;334:1 (6 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39063.441076.BE

Editorials

Communicating with parents on the neonatal unit

Should we be doing more than just talking?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Good communication underpins "good medical practice,"1 whereas poor communication results in patient dissatisfaction, increased complaints, and increased litigation.2 Surprisingly, therefore, other than in the field of cancer care3 there is a lack of literature to guide clinicians on how to improve communication. In this week's BMJ, a randomised controlled trial by Koh and colleagues investigates whether providing mothers of babies in neonatal intensive care units with audiotapes of their conversations with a neonatologist improves recall of information and psychological wellbeing.4

The concept of family centred care within the neonatal unit is based on the philosophy that "[care] ... should be based on open and honest communication between parents and professionals."5 Although few would disagree with this, many of the ethical and medical issues that are encountered routinely in the neonatal unit are highly complex and have to be communicated to parents who are under extreme pressure in a hostile . . . [Full text of this article]

Peter W Fowlie, consultant paediatrician , Allan Jackson, specialist registrar in neonatal medicine

1 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY

peter.fowlie@nhs.net


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Relevant Article

Provision of taped conversations with neonatologists to mothers of babies in intensive care: randomised controlled trial
Tieh Hee Hai Guan Koh, Phyllis N Butow, Michael Coory, Donna Budge, Li-An Collie, John Whitehall, and Martin H Tattersall
BMJ 2007 334: 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Mears, B. J. (2007). Providing Mothers with Tapes of Neonatologists' Discussions Improves Recall. AAP Grand Rounds 17: 54-55 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Evidence for Communicating with Patients
Katherine E Burn
bmj.com, 6 Jan 2007 [Full text]
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