RPS Conference 2010, Abstracts 2010 - Royal Pharmaceutical Society

uncertain why this occurs. Diversity in patients’ ages, inherent social abilities and interactive
skills add further levels of complexity to tailoring information delivery and content. It is for
healthcare professionals to manoeuvre towards the more customary dyadic (adult-adult)
interaction. However this makes it more difficult for young people to form a partnership with
healthcare professionals and to be involved in decisions regarding their care and treatment.
Conclusions: The tendency for healthcare professionals to direct their discussion towards
parents may be suitable and preferable for young children. However if reliance on parents and
healthcare professionals persists into adolescence, it is unlikely that self-management will be
fully adopted. Coupled with the need for parents to parent and children to be parented, the
introduction and uptake of self-management for long term conditions is severely hindered. It is
very difficult to determine when a young person should begin to self-manage their condition, as
this is influenced by many factors involving the child, their family and their circumstances.
Perhaps reflecting on interactions during the course of a young person’s treatment will facilitate
the transition towards self-management.
References
(1) Department of Health. Getting the right start: National Service Framework for Children.
Standard for Hospital services. London: Department of Health, 2003.
(2) Gabe J, Olumide G, Bury M. It takes three to tango: a framework for understanding
patient partnership in paediatric clinics. Social Science and Medicine 2004; 59:1071-1079.
(3) Sobo EJ. Pediatric nurses may misjudge parent communication preferences. Journal of
Nurse Care Quality 2004; 19:352-362.
(4) Robinson A, Thomson R. Variability in patient preferences for participating in medical
decision making: implications for the use of decision support tools. Quality in Health Care
2001; 10:134-138.