Determining Parental Attitudes Toward Day of Surgery Consent for Research

Determining Parental Attitudes Toward Day of Surgery Consent for Research

There are no studies examining parents' attitudes towards day of surgery consent for research. The purpose of the study is to determine the attitudes parents of potential research participants have toward being approached for day of surgery consent. The primary objective is to determine parental attitudes regarding day of surgery consent for anesthesia research. The secondary objective is to determine the boundaries for day of surgery consent (e.g., study types, interventions, risk factors).

This is a multi-phase prospective cohort study. In the first phase the investigators will interview parents and consult the Family Research Advisory Committee (FRAC) to determine their attitudes toward day of surgery research consent. The investigators will use the participants' responses and instruments already found in the literature to develop the questionnaire. In the second phase, the investigators will interview parents and consult FRAC about the questionnaire to determine which items to add, remove, or modify. In the third phase, the investigators will distribute the adapted questionnaire to clarify parents' attitudes surrounding day of surgery consent. The investigators will use the results of the third phase to develop a table of guidelines for day of surgery consent. In the final phase, the investigators will interview parents, healthcare professionals, and consult FRAC for feedback and modification of the table of guidelines.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The parents of children undergoing elective surgical procedures at Sickkids will be invited to participate in the study.
• If multiple parents are present, they are permitted to participate jointly; however, their participation will count as a single response.

Exclusion Criteria:

-Parents of children who are undergoing urgent or add-on procedures will be excluded.