Are there good ways to give 'bad news'?

Abstract

There has been considerable speculation about the inevitability of parental dissatisfaction with being informed about their child's disability. Mothers and fathers of 24 infants with a recently diagnosed disability were interviewed regarding their preferences for how to be told the "bad news." Qualitative analyses revealed nine themes of parental preferences for how to communicate difficult information. Parents affirmed communication themes previously discussed in the literature, such as being told early and together, and identified new ones, such as affective tone and physical contact with their baby. The importance of these themes is presented for this sample. Recommendations for how to present "bad news" can be concisely drawn from these findings. Results suggest that parental dissatisfaction with the process of telling is not inevitable.