Naomi Katz

Supervisors:

Professor Lynn Gillam, Health Humanities and Social Sciences Unit, Melbourne School of Population, University of Melbourne. Academic Director, Children’s Bioethics Centre, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

Associate Professor Jenny Hynson, Victorian Palliative Care Program, Children’s Bioethics Centre, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne

Title of your PhD:

Mismatches between parents and clinicians of children with serious illness: What are we missing?

Abstract:

Having their child diagnosed with a life-threatening condition (LTC) or life-limiting condition (LLC) throws parents into a world of grief, uncertainty and upheaval. In my clinical experience, situations occur where parents and clinicians are at odds with each other when thinking about a child’s prognosis or treatment. Why does this occur? I will outline some factors, and identify a potentially less well understood piece of the puzzle: if and how parents visit the reality of their child’s diagnosis and prognosis.