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Parents as passengers during pediatric transport
M M Lewis1, D Holditch-Davis, S Brunssen
1School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
Air Medical Journal
|March 8, 1997
Summary
Parents frequently accompany children during interfacility transport, offering emotional benefits but posing challenges like crew distraction. This practice varies widely, indicating a need for standardized guidelines in pediatric patient transport.
Area of Science:
- Medical transport
- Pediatric critical care
- Patient advocacy
Background:
- Transporting patients requires careful consideration of accompanying passengers.
- The unique environment of patient transport necessitates evaluating the inclusion of parents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe current practices regarding parents as passengers during pediatric interfacility transport.
- To identify perceived advantages and disadvantages of parent inclusion in pediatric transport.
Main Methods:
- A voluntary mail survey was distributed to 188 critical care transport programs in the United States.
- Survey data collected information on policies, practices, and crew perceptions of parent passengers.
Main Results:
- Extra seating is widely available in ambulances (96%) and fixed-wing aircraft (86%), less so in helicopters (54%).
- Parents traveled as passengers across all transport types, most commonly in ambulances and fixed-wing aircraft.
- Perceived advantages include emotional support for child and parent, history/consent availability, and public relations; disadvantages include potential parent anxiety, crew distraction, and space limitations.
Conclusions:
- Significant diversity exists in policies, practices, and opinions regarding parent passengers in pediatric transport.
- Further research is needed to establish optimal guidelines for parent inclusion during patient transport.
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