The needs of parents of hospitalized children in Australia
Linda Shields1, Jeanine Young, Damhnat McCann
1University of Hull, Hull, UK. L.Shields@hull.ac.uk
Insights
Parents and healthcare staff perceive hospitalized children's needs differently. Understanding these differing perceptions of needs is crucial for improving communication and education in pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Family-centered care
- Patient and family needs assessment
Background:
- Family-centered care is a cornerstone of pediatrics, emphasizing the holistic experience of hospitalized children and their families.
- Understanding and addressing the needs of parents during a child's hospitalization is critical for effective care.
- Previous research indicates potential discrepancies in perceived needs between parents and healthcare providers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the perceived needs of parents with those of healthcare staff caring for hospitalized children.
- To identify specific areas where parent and staff perceptions of needs align or diverge.
- To inform improvements in communication and educational strategies within pediatric settings.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a widely used and validated questionnaire to assess the perceived importance and satisfaction of 51 specific needs.
- Employed a convenience sample of parents and healthcare staff in Australian pediatric facilities.
- Collected data on the perceived importance of needs and their satisfactory fulfillment during pediatric hospital admissions.
Main Results:
- Identified differences in perceived importance and satisfactory fulfillment of needs between parents and staff.
- Observed no consistent patterns in the discrepancies between parent and staff perceptions.
- Parents reported higher levels of independence than healthcare staff perceived them to have.
Conclusions:
- Findings highlight the importance of recognizing differing perceptions of parental needs in pediatric care.
- Results can guide enhanced communication strategies between parents and healthcare professionals.
- Recommendations include integrating these insights into educational programs for both parents and staff to foster better collaboration and care.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of needs held by parents of hospitalized children with those held by the staff caring for them. Family-centred care is a central tenet of paediatrics and should encompass all aspects of the child and family's experience of hospitalization. Important to this are the needs of parents when their children are hospitalized. A widely used and validated tool was used with a convenience sample in paediatric facilities in a children's hospital in Australia. Some differences were found between parents and staff for scores for perceived importance of the 51 needs included in the questionnaire, and whether or not they were being met satisfactorily during children's hospital admission, although there were no consistent patterns. Parents declared themselves more independent than the staff perceived them to be. These findings facilitate improvements in communication between parents and staff and can be included in education programmes for both.
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