ArticleBMJ open2023
Exploring the experiences of healthcare professionals in South Africa and Uganda around communicating with children about life-threatening conditions: a workshop-based qualitative study to inform the adaptation of communication frameworks for use in these settings.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding factors that impact patient access and engagement with biomedical and traditional care for hip fractures in The Gambia: An ethnographic study using a social ecological model.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Setting the stage for communication skills training in Rwandan cancer care: a qualitative study of local priorities and key contextual factors.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- A scoping review of clinical communication in cancer care in Africa.The oncologist · 2025Article
- An e-Learning Intervention for Professionals to Promote Family-Centered Cancer Care When a Significant Caregiver for Children Is at End of Life: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 12 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis study aimed to explore how published communication frameworks could be amended to ensure applicability and cultural appropriateness for professionals to support family-centred conversations by investigating' healthcare professionals' (1) experiences of providing support to families when a caregiver or a dependent child (<18 years old) has a life-threatening condition, (2) perceived challenges for caregivers and healthcare professionals in communicating with children about illness, (3) perceptions of how clinicians could be equipped to facilitate conversations between caregivers and children about an adult or the child's own life-threatening condition and (4) suggestions for amendments to previously published guidelines to ensure cultural relevance in South Africa and Uganda.
designA qualitative study involving two 2-day workshops with embedded focus group discussions, break out rooms and consensus discussions.
settingHealth and social care and third sector organisations in South Africa and Uganda.
participantsThirty-two professionals providing care to families affected by life-threatening conditions in South Africa or Uganda who were aged 18 years or older and able to converse in English.
resultsParticipants identified obstacles to having conversations with caregivers about children and to telling children about serious illness during consultations. These included patients' beliefs about illness, medicine and death, language barriers between families and the healthcare team, and emotional and practical challenges for professionals in having these conversations. Culturally appropriate adaptations were made to previously published communication frameworks for professionals to support family-centred conversations.
conclusionsCulturally sensitive communication frameworks could help healthcare professionals to talk with families about what children need to know when they or a caregiver have a serious illness. More broadly, effective communication could be facilitated by promoting healthcare professionals' and communities' understanding of the benefits of telling children about illness within the family. Together these strategies may mitigate the psychological impact of global disease on children and their families.
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Registered trials
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