Assessment of quality of counselling for down syndrome in Sudan

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the quality of the counselling for the Down syndrome that the parents received at the time of the diagnosis. Method: Parents of infants with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were interviewed about the counselling received at the time of the diagnosis. Results: During the study period 109 infants with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were seen. 40 out of the 109 parents (36.7%) did not receive any counselling for Down syndrome, 69(63.3%) were counselled about Down syndrome but 22 out of them (33.9%) felt that the counselling was not good enough. Conclusion: The training of doctors in counselling and in breaking bad news need to be improved.