Collaborating with parents of children with chronic conditions and professionals to design, develop and pre-pilot PLAnT (the Parent Learning Needs and Preferences Assessment Tool)

Purpose: This study aimed to design, develop and pre-pilot an assessment tool (PLAnT) to identify parents' learning needs and preferences when carrying out home-based clinical care for their child with a chronic condition. Design and Methods: A mixed methods, two-phased design was used. Phase 1: a total of 10 parents/carers and 13 professionals from six UK's children's kidney units participated in qualitative interviews. Interview data were used to develop the PLAnT. Eight of these participants subsequently took part in an online survey to refine the PLAnT. Phase 2: thirteen parents were paired with one of nine professionals to undertake a pre-pilot evaluation of PLAnT. Data were analyzed using the Framework approach. Results: A key emergent theme identifying parents' learning needs and preferences was identified. The importance of professionals being aware of parents' learning needs and preferences was recognised. Participants discussed how parents' learning needs and preferences should be identified, including: the purpose for doing this, the process for doing this, and what would the outcome be of identifying parents' needs. Conclusions: The evidence suggests that asking parents directly about their learning needs and preferences may be the most reliable way for professionals to ascertain how to support individual parents' learning when sharing management of their child's chronic condition. Practice Implications: With the increasing emphasis on parent-professional shared management of childhood chronic conditions, professionals can be guided by PLAnT in their assessment of parents' learning needs and preferences, based on identified barriers and facilitators to parental learning.