Creating a postmortem examination decision aid: Suggestions from bereaved parents of a stillborn.
Naomi O Riches, Tsegaselassie Workalemahu, Erin P Johnson and 5 others
PMID 37060683WHAT IT FOUND
Bereaved parents of a stillborn wanted postmortem examination information delivered slowly, in plain language, with a conversation plus written material, after they could process the loss.
No decision aid was tested.
Key findings
0117 parents were offered at least one postmortem examination, and 9 described how information was delivered.
02Parents who consented to examinations wanted answers, while some who declined wanted to protect the baby or thought they already knew the cause.
03For a decision aid, parents recommended slow delivery, plain language, no autopsy visuals, and a one-on-one conversation with reading material.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The interviews were retrospective, and over a year had passed between the postmortem examination decision and the interviews for most participants, so recall may have shaped what they said. Participants were recruited from one hospital and were mostly Caucasian, well educated, wealthier, and 42% belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so the suggestions may not generalize to other groups. No decision aid was tested, so the study cannot show that these suggestions improve knowledge, reduce decisional conflict, reduce anxiety, or increase satisfaction. Only 19 parents were interviewed, and all had previously agreed to be contacted for stillbirth research, which may not represent parents who did not agree or could not be reached.
Declared interests
No explicit funding or conflict-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a postmortem examination decision aid improves parents' decisions or reduces anxiety. The study only asked bereaved parents to suggest what such an aid should contain, and no aid was tested.