Caring for adoptive families: lessons in communication.
PURPOSE: To describe the experiences of families whose adopted children were hospitalized and to compare those experiences to the experiences of families of hospitalized biological children. METHOD: The parents of 10 adopted and 55 biological children participated in the study in which the source and intensity of stress for parents and the level of distress demonstrated by the children during their hospitalization were measured and compared. RESULTS: Adopted children hospitalized for the first time were significantly more distressed during hospitalization than biological children hospitalized for the first time. Adoptive parents experienced significantly more stress than biological parents related to how staff communicated with them about their child's illness. Concerns identified by several adoptive families included difficulties associated with having limited information about their child's family medical history and concerns about attachment issues. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers need to be aware of adoptive parents' concerns about their child's response to hospitalization, attachment issues, and limited family medical history. The quality of communication with adoptive parents is especially important.