Lack of study funding & resources

To make medical decisions involving pros and cons, one also has to understand probability and percentages. This is a preliminary study to evaluate the ability of children to understand probability and percentages.

The concept of patients making decisions with respect to their health care is well accepted in adult medicine but, the value and importance of decision making in the care of children is not recognized. The major objection raised against allowing children to express their opinions concerning outcomes is that children do not understand probability.

One way of assessing children's ability to understand probability is to test their mathematical knowledge using tests focused on probability and percentage.

We have designed a set of questionnaires with 10 questions each, taken from the US Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). They are divided into 3 different groups (4th, 8th, and 12th grade), based on grade-level. We have also obtained the average percentage of correct-incorrect answers given to these questions by students nationwide, and the scoring system used to assess the student's proficiency level.

In this preliminary study we intend to present this set of 10 mathematical questions to children and to one of their parents.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Males or females ages 11 to 18 years.
2. Spoken and written English as primary language of both parents and children.
3. Children scheduled to receive anesthesia.
4. Parental/guardian permission (informed consent) and if appropriate, child assent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Children with known mental retardation, of any nature.
2. Children who attend schools for children with special needs.

This prospective study will involve one or two encounters with each child and a parent at the Anesthesia Resource Center (ARC) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the second visit at CHOP during the post-operative phase of recovery prior to discharge from the hospital.