Parents' views of their child's health and family function in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore parents' views and agreement of their child's current and future health, as well as the family's functioning in daily life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: In this study, 119 parents (65 mothers and 54 fathers) of 66 adolescents (11-16 years) with IBD completed a questionnaire regarding their views of their child's IBD and health-related behaviour.

Results: The majority of the parents held a positive view of their child's current health status. However, the parents voiced a range of worries about their children's future health and life situation such as fear about the side effects of medication, concerns for future schooling, social life and employment options. Within the families, the parental pairs had more similar views about their child's current health status than about their future health. Factors that affected the parents' views consisted of cohabitation status, i.e. parents not living together, and severe disease course, both correlated with a more negative view of the child's current health and family functioning.

Conclusion: The majority of the parents in this study had a largely positive view of their child's current health status, but they expressed concerns about their child's future health. Knowledge about parents' thoughts may be of importance for healthcare teams supporting families with IBD.