Experiences of medical traumatic stress in parents of children with medical complexity.

Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from parent organizations and social media, so parents who were less engaged in advocacy or had language or immigration barriers may not be represented. The sample was mostly mothers and lacked ethnic, income, and gender diversity, so findings may not transfer to fathers, Indigenous parents, or families with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Children with high acute care needs were targeted, so the findings may not apply to children with medical complexity who mainly use outpatient or community care. Parents were not screened or diagnosed with post-traumatic stress using quantitative tools, so the study describes perceived traumatic experiences rather than measured symptom outcomes. The study did not test interventions, so parent suggestions should not be read as proven ways to reduce medical traumatic stress.

The University of Calgary and the Rare Disease Foundation funded the work. The authors reported no financial conflicts of interest.

Do not read these parent accounts as proof that a particular approach reduces medical traumatic stress. The study describes subjective experiences and suggestions, not tested interventions.