Parent Provider Alliance

Parents whose children die in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are at high risk for adverse health outcomes. The Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN) previously demonstrated a high prevalence of complicated grief among parents whose children died in PICUs. Therapeutic alliance is the collaborative bond that develops between patients/families and their healthcare providers. The strength of therapeutic alliance has been shown to affect treatment outcomes for many conditions. What is not known is the extent to which therapeutic alliance can reduce complicated grief and other adverse health outcomes among parents after a child’s death in a PICU. During this multi-site longitudinal study, parents with a child that died in the PICU were surveyed at 6 and 13 months. The study found that among parents bereaved in the PICU, therapeutic alliance with physicians was moderately high. The study also found that mental health symptoms declined over time; however, symptoms persisted for many.