Use of language in the medical decision‐making process for biologic therapy: Youth and parent perspectives

Background Youth with chronic illnesses and their parents make complex medical decisions and also need to develop medical decision‐making skills for transition of care to adult care. The use of inclusive (e.g. ‘we decided …’) and exclusive (e.g. ‘they decided …’) language in youth and parents' medical decision‐making experiences provides insights into perceptions of engagement. This study assessed youth and parents' perceptions of engagement in medical decision‐making about biologic therapy. Methods This exploratory mixed‐methods secondary analysis of semistructured interview data included youth with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and Crohn's disease (CD) and parents. Iterative qualitative coding of interviews generated themes. Exploratory analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) investigated differences in language use between youth and parents. Results Parents used more inclusive language in perceptions of medical decision‐making experiences than youth, which exploratory analyses found significant (p < 0.05). Youth used more exclusive language than parents in perceptions of medical decision‐making. Conclusion This research suggests that youth with chronic illnesses perceived limited engagement in medical decision‐making, with parents perceiving higher engagement. This presents challenges for youth as they prepare for the transition to adult care. Future research should assess how inclusive and exclusive language use impacts psychosocial and health outcomes.