Therapeutic alliance is the collaborative bond that develops between patients/families and healthcare providers. Our objective is to determine the extent of therapeutic alliance bereaved parents perceive to have occurred with their child's physicians during their child's PICU stay, and associated factors. DESIGN:Multicenter observational study. SETTING: Eight children's hospitals affiliated with the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network.PATIENTS: Parents greater than or equal to 18 years old whose child died in a PICU (including cardiac ICU). INTERVENTIONS:Bereaved parents completed the Human Connection Scale, a 16-item measure of therapeutic alliance, 6 months after their child's death. Human Connection Scale scores range from 16 to 64 with higher scores indicating greater alliance. Parents provided sociodemographic data, and medical records were reviewed for the child's clinical characteristics. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Two-hundred and thirty-three parents of 157 deceased children responded to the Human Connection Scale with greater than or equal to 80% item completion. Among parents, 146 (62.7%) were female, 155 (66.5%) were White and 46 (19.7%) were Black, 175 (75.1%) were married, and 209 (89.7%) had at least a high-school education. Among children, median age at the time of death was 5.9 years (interquartile range, 0.64-13.9 yr) and 114 (72.6%) died after limitation or withdrawal of life support. Mean Human Connection Scale score was 51.4 ± 11.1 for all parents, 52.6 ± 9.0 for White parents, and 47.0 ± 13.7 for Black parents. In multivariable modeling predicting Human Connection Scale scores, race was the only parent or child characteristic in the final model. Human Connection Scale scores were significantly different (-4.56; 95% CI, -8.53 to -0.6; p = 0.025) between the Black and White parents with items about trust, care, and honest communication showing the greatest mean difference. CONCLUSIONS: Among parents bereaved in the PICU, therapeutic alliance with physicians is moderately high. Future research should identify strategies to strengthen therapeutic alliance with Black parents and examine the role of alliance on bereaved parents' health outcomes.

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Background: Parents often suffer reduced mental health after their child’s death; however, the trajectory and risk factors are not well described. Objective: Describe the change in complicated grief, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms among parents between 6 and 13 months after their child’s death in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and factors associated with 13-month symptoms. Methods: Parents whose children died in 1 of 8 PICUs affiliated with the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network completed surveys 6 and 13 months after their child’s death. Surveys included the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) for depression, and the Short Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT). Parents provided sociodemographics. Charts were reviewed for child characteristics. Results: One-hundred and fifty seven parents of 104 deceased children completed surveys at both time points. Mental health symptoms declined over time (mean (SD)): ICG (33.8 (15.4) vs. 30.5 (15.2), p < 0.001), PHQ-8 (9.0 (6.4) vs. 7.3 (5.8), p < 0.001), and SPRINT (14.1 (8.3) vs. 12.0 (8.2), p < 0.001). After controlling for 6-month scores, higher 13-month ICG was independently associated with sudden unexpected death; higher PHQ-8 with Black race, insecure attachment style, and sudden unexpected death; and higher SPRINT with having a high school level of education (compared to college degree or higher). Conclusion: Mental health symptoms improve among parents during the first 13 months after their child’s death; however, symptoms persist for many. Black parents and those whose children die suddenly may be high risk for poor adjustment during bereavement.

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