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Children's admissions to the intensive care unit: parents' attitudes and expectations of outcome
Insights
Parental attitudes toward pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission are shaped by prior experiences and knowledge. Understanding these factors can help identify parents needing support during a child's critical illness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Psychology
- Health sciences
Background:
- Parental attitudes significantly influence a child's intensive care unit (ICU) experience.
- Understanding parental perspectives is crucial for effective family-centered care in pediatric ICUs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an instrument assessing parental attitudes towards pediatric ICU admission.
- To examine the relationship between parents' prior experiences/knowledge and their attitudes/expectations regarding their child's critical illness outcome.
Main Methods:
- Developed a reliable instrument based on the Expectancy-Value Model of Attitude.
- Administered the instrument to 50 parents with children in the ICU.
- Utilized qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
Main Results:
- Parental attitudes toward ICU admission and expectations for illness outcomes were influenced by previous exposure to similar situations, ICUs, and illnesses.
- Identified key factors shaping parental perceptions during a child's critical illness.
Conclusions:
- Parental knowledge and experiences are significant predictors of attitudes and expectations regarding pediatric ICU admission.
- The developed instrument can aid in identifying at-risk parents requiring interventions.
- Further validation in diverse populations is recommended.
Abstract:
A reliable instrument based on the Expectancy-Value Model of Attitude was developed using responses of 30 parents to assess parental attitudes toward the intensive care unit admission of children. The instrument was then administered to 50 parents whose children were in the intensive care unit to examine relationships between parents' previous experiences/knowledge and their attitudes/expectations about their child's critical illness outcome. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis demonstrated that parents' attitudes toward the event of their child's admission and parents' expectations for their child's illness outcome were influenced by previous knowledge of similar situations, previous exposure to intensive care units, and previous knowledge of similar illnesses. Knowledge of factors associated with the development of parental attitude is essential to the development of models that can be tested for predictive validity. Such models may eventually assist in identifying parents who are at risk and in need of intervention. Further studies to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument in other populations is warranted.