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Team Care and the ACPA: What Do Parents Understand?
Michael Larsen, Christian Mitchell, Diana Carrau, Adriane Baylis, Canice Crerand, Gregory D. Pearson, Richard E. Kirschner
The Ohio State University
2016-02-01
Presenter: Diana Carrau
Affidavit:
The material proposed has not yet been presented, but will be presented at the ACPA conference in April. Diana significantly contributed to the acquisition and analysis of data and to the writing of the abstract.
Director Name: Gregory Pearson
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: Craniomaxillofacial
Introduction: The American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) values team care and has established standards for interdisciplinary cleft palate and craniofacial care.
Methods: Parents were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire to assess their knowledge and perception of team care as they completed their annual visit with an ACPA-approved team.
Results: 57 (83.8%) of 68 surveys were completed. Just 35.1% of parents believed that cleft care providers were required to be part of team of specialists; 87.7% thought it was desirable for them to be so. Despite this, just 45.6% indicated that availability of a team in their area was a factor in where they sought treatment. The ability to provide them with adequate information regarding the treatment plan was the team characteristic that parents noted to be the most important. Only a minority of parents had any knowledge of the ACPA (38.9%) or of the Cleft Palate Foundation (37%). Only 7% were familiar with The ACPA's Parameters of Care. In contrast, Operation Smile and Smile Train were familiar to the majority of parents (70.7% and 51.8%, respectively), and most of the respondents had knowledge of these organizations goals and purposes.
Conclusion: There is limited understanding of the ACPA and of established team standards amongst parents of children with clefts. Nevertheless, parents share the Association's belief in the importance of team care and team standards. Opportunities for improvement in awareness initiatives and in the education of parents regarding the ACPA and team care clearly exist for teams and for the Association.
