Abstract
It is not known how parents of children with scoliosis perceive cosmetic issues in their offspring. There is little clinical information regarding parental 'surrogate' assessment of a young persons' fears and beliefs regarding how a deformity affects the child and how that might influence the process of informed consent and surgical risk assessment.
Method
Patients and their parents had a structured interview involving SRS20 and Walter Reed Visual Assessment Scale. The parents were asked to complete an SRS20 as they expected their child to complete it. That is they were asked to anticipate how the child might score and grade the SRS 20.
Results
28 patients, 6 males, 22 females, 8 females were pre-menarche, mean age 14 (12-17), mean cobb angle 57, completed the study. Mean parental age 45. There were 6 fathers and 22 mothers.
The mean SRS scores for the domains for children were pain 2.49, self image 2.3 function 2.9 Mental health 2.9 Total 10.7.
The mean SRS scores for the domains for the parents were pain 2.38 self image 2.39 function 2.97 Mental health 2.87 Total 10.5
There was no significant difference between mean scores for the four domains of the SRS20
Conclusion
Parents are remarkably good at estimating the SRS scores of the young person that they attend clinic with. Parents involved in the consent progress understand the areas where scoliosis impacts upon their child. This is reassuring information for the surgeon in informing the process of consent
COREC NUMBER: 07/H0402/67 Ethics approval
