Facing challenges to family-centered care. I: Conflicts over visitation

Policies and practices related to parental presence and participation in the care of a hospitalized child can be a source of tension between nurses and families. Tensions often revolve around "visiting" hours, who may visit, the number of visitors allowed at the bedside at a time, and inconsistent enforcement of existing visitation policies. A family-centered framework for evaluating these policies and practices can provide direction that will help reduce these tensions. Visitation policies that are flexible and offer guidelines, not rules, will usually best meet the needs of families. Some nurses may need education, mentoring, skill-building, and role-playing opportunities to work comfortably with flexible guidelines and increased family presence and participation.