Attitudes and Characteristics of Parents Regarding the Facial Reconstruction Team

Families of patients with cleft lip and/or palate play an important role on the Facial Reconstruction Team. A recent study suggested that “Limited attention has been given to characteristics and attitudes of family members of children who are receiving treatment for cleft palate.” Objective: The purpose of this study was to obtain opinions and attitudes of families towards the Facial Reconstruction Team. Methods: A questionnaire was provided to parents of children being treated by the team. Results: We received 38 survey responses. Mothers filled out 89% of our surveys. Parents with children having cleft lip and palate made up 53% of our respondents, while 18% have cleft lip only, and 11% cleft palate. Strong feelings of anxiety about the treatment decreased from 13% to 3% after meeting the team. 69% of patients reported a very high understanding of their child's needs after the initial meeting with the team as opposed to 33% before the meeting. 46% of parents reported they strongly agreed that the number of team members was helpful and 45% stated they strongly disagreed the number was intimidating. The team members with the highest responses of “very satisfied” were the Oral Surgeon and Orthodontist (58%). Understanding of treatment was reported as 47% “very satisfied”. Parents were 42% “very satisfied” in understanding how to start treatment, and 40% “very satisfied” with the clarity of next step. Clarity of next step however, received 12% dissatisfaction at varying levels. 50% of parents were very satisfied with child's improvement, 50% very satisfied with helpfulness of the services, and 71% very satisfied with the overall attitude of the team. Conclusion: This study provides insights to the attitude towards the team at our institution. One important area is communication between patient, parent, and the team and clarifying the next step in treatment for families.