The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial needs of both parents of children with CHD (aged 0–18 years) and patients themselves (aged 8–18 years) in the week before cardiac surgery or a catheter intervention.

Eligible participants included all consecutive patients (0–18 years) scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery or a catheter intervention in our hospital between March, 2012 and July, 2013. Psychosocial needs were assessed using a disease-specific questionnaire designed for this study, consisting of a 83-item parent version and a 59-item child version (for children ⩾8 years), each covering five domains: physical/medical, emotional, social, educational/occupational, and health behaviour; two items assessed from whom and in what format psychosocial care was preferred. Quality of life was also assessed.

If parents/patients reported a need for psychosocial care, referral to adequate mental health-care professionals was arranged.

More than 40% of participating parents and >50% of participating children reported a need for psychosocial care on each of the five domains. Needs for psychosocial care for parents themselves were highest for those with children aged 0–12 years. Parents and patients report clear preferences when asked from whom and in what format they would like to receive psychosocial care. Quality of life was relatively high for both parents and patients. Psychosocial care interventions in our hospital increased significantly after the implementation of this study.

Results show that psychosocial care is rated as (very) important by both parents and children during an extremely stressful period of their life.

It is important to identify those children with a Fontan circulation who are at risk for impaired health-related quality of life. We aimed to determine the predictive value of functional health status – medical history and present medical status – on both physical and psychosocial domains of health-related quality of life, as reported by patients themselves and their parents.

We carried out a prospective cross-sectional multi-centre study in Fontan patients aged between 8 and 15, who had undergone staged completion of total cavopulmonary connection according to a current technique before the age of 7 years.

Functional health status was assessed as medical history – that is, age at Fontan, type of Fontan, ventricular dominance, and number of cardiac surgical procedures – and present medical status – assessed with magnetic resonance imaging, exercise testing, and rhythm assessment. Health-related quality of life was assessed with The TNO/AZL Child Questionnaire Child Form and Parent Form.

In multivariate prediction models, several medical history variables, such as more operations post-Fontan completion, lower age at Fontan completion, and dominant right ventricle, and present medical status variables, such as smaller end-diastolic volume, a higher score for ventilatory efficiency, and the presence of sinus node dysfunction, predicted worse outcomes on several parent-reported and self-reported physical as well as psychosocial health-related quality of life domains.

Medical history and worse present medical status not only predicted worse physical parent-reported and self-reported health-related quality of life but also worse psychosocial health-related quality of life and subjective cognitive functioning. These findings will help in identifying patients who are at risk for developing impaired health-related quality of life.