Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study
Objectives Craniosynostosis is typically diagnosed and surgically corrected within the first year of life. The diagnosis and surgical correction of the condition can be a very stressful experience for families. Despite this, there is little research exploring the impact that craniosynostosis has on...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e033403.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841554029300154368 |
|---|---|
| author | Jill Chorney Victoria Kuta Lauren Curry Daniel McNeely Simon Walling Michael Bezuhly |
| author_facet | Jill Chorney Victoria Kuta Lauren Curry Daniel McNeely Simon Walling Michael Bezuhly |
| author_sort | Jill Chorney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Craniosynostosis is typically diagnosed and surgically corrected within the first year of life. The diagnosis and surgical correction of the condition can be a very stressful experience for families. Despite this, there is little research exploring the impact that craniosynostosis has on families, especially in the period immediately following diagnosis and correction. In this study, the authors aimed to qualitatively examine the psychosocial experience of families with a child diagnosed with craniosynostosis.Design Qualitative study.Setting Tertiary care paediatric health centre.Participants Mothers of children newly diagnosed with single-suture, non-syndromic craniosynostosis.Intervention Semistructured interviews regarding parental experience with the initial diagnosis, their decision on corrective surgery for their child, the operative experience, the impact of craniosynostosis on the family and the challenges they encountered throughout their journey.Primary and secondary outcome measures Thematic analysis, a type of qualitative analysis that provides an in-depth account of participant’s experiences, was used to analyse the interview data.Results Over a 4-year period, 12 families meeting eligibility criteria completed the study. Three main themes (six subthemes) emerged from the preoperative interviews: frustration with diagnostic delays (parental intuition and advocacy, hope for improved awareness), understanding what to expect (healthcare supports, interest in connecting with other families) and justifying the need for corrective surgery (influence of the surgeon, struggle with cosmetic indications). Two main themes (four subthemes) were drawn from the postoperative interviews: overcoming fear (the role of healthcare professionals, transition home) and relief (reduction in parental anxiety, cosmetic improvements).Conclusions Overall, the diagnosis of craniosynostosis has a profound impact on families, leading them to face many struggles throughout their journey. A better understanding of these experiences will help to inform future practice, with a hope to improve this experience for other families moving forward. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4a015daa1c84482587be6195642e5adc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-4a015daa1c84482587be6195642e5adc2025-01-09T02:25:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-09-0110910.1136/bmjopen-2019-033403Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative studyJill Chorney0Victoria Kuta1Lauren Curry2Daniel McNeely3Simon Walling4Michael Bezuhly5Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDivision of Otolaryngology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDivision of Neurosurgery, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDivision of Neurosurgery, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, CanadaDivision of Plastic Surgery, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaObjectives Craniosynostosis is typically diagnosed and surgically corrected within the first year of life. The diagnosis and surgical correction of the condition can be a very stressful experience for families. Despite this, there is little research exploring the impact that craniosynostosis has on families, especially in the period immediately following diagnosis and correction. In this study, the authors aimed to qualitatively examine the psychosocial experience of families with a child diagnosed with craniosynostosis.Design Qualitative study.Setting Tertiary care paediatric health centre.Participants Mothers of children newly diagnosed with single-suture, non-syndromic craniosynostosis.Intervention Semistructured interviews regarding parental experience with the initial diagnosis, their decision on corrective surgery for their child, the operative experience, the impact of craniosynostosis on the family and the challenges they encountered throughout their journey.Primary and secondary outcome measures Thematic analysis, a type of qualitative analysis that provides an in-depth account of participant’s experiences, was used to analyse the interview data.Results Over a 4-year period, 12 families meeting eligibility criteria completed the study. Three main themes (six subthemes) emerged from the preoperative interviews: frustration with diagnostic delays (parental intuition and advocacy, hope for improved awareness), understanding what to expect (healthcare supports, interest in connecting with other families) and justifying the need for corrective surgery (influence of the surgeon, struggle with cosmetic indications). Two main themes (four subthemes) were drawn from the postoperative interviews: overcoming fear (the role of healthcare professionals, transition home) and relief (reduction in parental anxiety, cosmetic improvements).Conclusions Overall, the diagnosis of craniosynostosis has a profound impact on families, leading them to face many struggles throughout their journey. A better understanding of these experiences will help to inform future practice, with a hope to improve this experience for other families moving forward.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e033403.full |
| spellingShingle | Jill Chorney Victoria Kuta Lauren Curry Daniel McNeely Simon Walling Michael Bezuhly Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study BMJ Open |
| title | Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | understanding families experiences following a diagnosis of non syndromic craniosynostosis a qualitative study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e033403.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jillchorney understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy AT victoriakuta understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy AT laurencurry understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy AT danielmcneely understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy AT simonwalling understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy AT michaelbezuhly understandingfamiliesexperiencesfollowingadiagnosisofnonsyndromiccraniosynostosisaqualitativestudy |