Patient safety in a pediatric centre: partnering with families

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare Quality
• Patient Safety Initiatives
• Family-Centered Care Models

Background:

• Patient-Centered Care (PCC) is fundamental to quality healthcare, respecting patient preferences and values.
• In pediatrics, PCC extends to Family-Centered Care (FCC), involving the entire family in clinical decisions.
• Effective FCC necessitates transparent collaboration among the child, family, and healthcare team.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of Family-Centered Care (FCC) principles in enhancing pediatric patient safety.
• To highlight the role of institutional commitment in integrating FCC across healthcare provisions.
• To showcase a successful FCC-based initiative at a children's hospital.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an interdisciplinary committee (Families as Partners in Patient Safety Committee) at a children's hospital.
• The committee comprises healthcare providers, parents, and Children's Council representatives.
• The committee's mandate includes identifying patient safety (PS) issues, recommending improvements, and promoting parent-staff partnerships in PS.

Main Results:

• The committee successfully developed patient safety information for families.
• Initiatives included a joint hand hygiene campaign and a smoke-free hospital campaign.
• A task-oriented partnership model between families and healthcare workers proved productive for advancing pediatric patient safety.

Conclusions:

• Family-Centered Care principles, when explicitly adopted by an institution, significantly improve pediatric patient safety.
• Interdisciplinary committees integrating parents and healthcare providers are effective in addressing patient safety concerns.
• Collaborative partnerships between families and healthcare staff are a productive model for enhancing safety in pediatric settings.