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HoloprosencephalyNCT00005016

Study of the Experiences and Needs of Parents Continuing a Pregnancy Following a Prenatal Diagnosis of Holopresencephaly

An observational study of Holoprosencephaly, run by National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study will examine the experiences of parents who decided to continue a pregnancy after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of holopresencephaly (HPE). HPE results from a genetic defect that can cause facial abnormalities such as cleft lip and cleft palate, learning disabilities, muscle weakness, problems with… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
Holoprosencephaly
How many people
30 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Mar 2000to Feb 2001
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Parents, both fathers and mothers, of a child with HPE if they received their child's diagnosis of HPE prenatally either through ultrasound or prenatal testing such as CVS or amniocentesis.

Must have continued pregnancy after HPE diagnosis.

Must be over the age of 18.

Will not be excluded on the basis of single-parent status or of refusal of one parent to participate.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

    Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: The Experiences and Needs of Parents Continuing a Pregnancy Following Abnormal Prenatal Results: The Case of Holoprosencephaly

This study will examine the experiences of parents who decided to continue a pregnancy after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of holopresencephaly (HPE). HPE results from a genetic defect that can cause facial abnormalities such as cleft lip and cleft palate, learning disabilities, muscle weakness, problems with digestion, sleep and muscle control, and other disabilities. The severity of symptoms varies greatly among affected children.

Parents whose child was diagnosed before birth with HPE may be eligible for this study. It involves a one-time interview that takes from about 45 to 60 minutes. The interview is conducted either in person or by telephone and consists of three parts, as follows:

Read more
  1. The experience of receiving the diagnosis of HPE during the pregnancy < includes general questions such as when and how HPE was diagnosed, what kind of information the parent received, the parent's reaction to the diagnosis, what genetic counseling, if any, the parents received, and so forth.
  2. Emotional and informational needs < includes questions about the parent's specific emotional and informational needs from the time of diagnosis until the baby's birth, and the parent's reactions to support that was given.
  3. Questionnaire < includes questions about the parent and his or her child, such as the parent's age, gender, marital status, and religious background, the child's age, gender, medical problems, and so forth. The questionnaire will be completed verbally for telephone interviews and in writing for in-person interviews. The interview will be tape-recorded and will be kept confidential.

Information from this study will provide health professionals, including genetic counselors, more effective strategies for helping other parents who face similar prenatal diagnoses.

Read the detailed description

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a condition that when found prenatally offers parents a poor but often uncertain prognosis for their baby. Parents that continue the pregnancy given this diagnosis are left to endure the remainder of the pregnancy and the ambiguity involved in this highly variable condition. Previous studies have examined the psychological and social impact of prenatal diagnosis on parents and the outcomes of the pregnancy in conditions such as Down syndrome and sex chromosome abnormalities. Because the majority of parents receiving abnormal prenatal information terminate their pregnancies, most studies have focused on these parents' experiences, specifically the mothers'. However, little is known about the experiences of parents (both fathers and mothers) continuing a pregnancy given abnormal prenatal information especially in highly variable conditions such as HPE.

In this study, the experiences and needs of parents who received the diagnosis of HPE prenatally will be explored. Study participants will be drawn from several sites that include an existing molecular diagnostic protocol for HPE at the University of Pennsylvania, clinical patients seen at the University of Michigan, HPE family resources, and an upcoming conference on HPE to be held in April of 2000. Through semi-structured interviews, fathers and mothers of children with HPE who were diagnosed prenatally will be asked to talk individually about their experiences of receiving the diagnosis and continuing with the pregnancy. Their perceived informational, emotional and supportive needs at that time will be explored. In addition, their thoughts on the health care professionals' role in meeting these needs will be discussed. A brief questionnaire following the interview will gather quantitative data to serve as descriptors of the population and to help interpret the qualitative findings. The questionnaire includes demographic questions as well as a scale measuring tolerance for ambiguity and questions regarding the parent's perceived severity of their child's diagnosis of HPE.

Interviews will be analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. Specifically, recurring themes that emerge from interview transcripts will be analyzed for content and patterns. In addition, descriptive statistics will be applied to the questionnaire data and will be used to aid in the interpretation of the qualitative findings. An exploration of the experiences and needs of fathers and mothers who receive the diagnosis of HPE prenatally will offer a better understanding for health care professionals, specifically genetic counselors, regarding their role in working with parents continuing a pregnancy given prenatal information about a fetal anomaly.

Keywords
Fetal Anomaly, Genetic Counseling, Prenatal Diagnosis, Psychosocial Issues, Qualitative, HPE, Holoprosencephaly
Medical subject headings
Holoprosencephaly, Congenital Abnormalities

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted10 Dec 2002 (estimated)
  2. Study startMar 2000
  3. Study completionFeb 2001

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
30 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00005016
Sponsor's protocol ID
000104
Other IDs
00-HG-0104
Status last verified
Mar 2000
First submitted
4 Apr 2000
Last updated
4 Mar 2008
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Beeson D, Golbus MS. Decision making: whether or not to have prenatal diagnosis and abortion for X-linked conditions. Am J Med Genet. 1985 Jan;20(1):107-14. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.1320200113. No abstract available.

    PubMed 3970063
  • Chitty LS, Barnes CA, Berry C. Continuing with pregnancy after a diagnosis of lethal abnormality: experience of five couples and recommendations for management. BMJ. 1996 Aug 24;313(7055):478-80. doi: 10.1136/bmj.313.7055.478. No abstract available.

    PubMed 8776321
  • Drugan A, Greb A, Johnson MP, Krivchenia EL, Uhlmann WR, Moghissi KS, Evans MI. Determinants of parental decisions to abort for chromosome abnormalities. Prenat Diagn. 1990 Aug;10(8):483-90. doi: 10.1002/pd.1970100802.

    PubMed 2267225

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Holoprosencephaly, run by National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00005016, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008.

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