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Children and young people visiting an adult intensive care unit
1Nursing Studies, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, UK. susanne.kean@ed.ac.uk
Insights
Children and young people perceive intensive care unit visits differently based on age. Younger children focus on the environment, while older ones understand the unit's function, highlighting a need for tailored support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care research
- Family-centered care in intensive care units
- Child psychology and development
Background:
- Limited research exists on children's experiences in adult intensive care units (ICUs).
- Previous studies predominantly focused on adult family members' ICU experiences.
- Understanding children's needs and comprehension during ICU visits is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how children and young people construct their experiences visiting a critically ill family member in an ICU.
- To identify age-related differences in understanding and needs during ICU visitation.
- To inform the development of supportive interventions for pediatric visitors in ICUs.
Main Methods:
- A qualitative study utilizing a constructivist grounded theory approach.
- Data collected through nine family interviews involving 12 adults and 12 children.
- Analysis focused on understanding children's and young people's perspectives on ICU visits.
Main Results:
- Children and young people exhibit distinct levels of understanding regarding ICU visits.
- Younger children conceptualize the ICU as an environment, focusing on sensory aspects.
- Older children and adolescents perceive the ICU in terms of its function and purpose.
Conclusions:
- There is a need for structured, age-appropriate support for children visiting ICUs.
- Nurses require enhanced training in communication and understanding children's needs during critical care situations.
- Further research is essential to develop effective support interventions and evaluate the impact of ICU visitation on children.
Aim:
This paper is a report of a study into how children and young people constructed their experiences of visiting a critically ill family member in an intensive care unit.
Background:
Previous intensive care research has focused almost exclusively on adult family members, and so far children and young people have been excluded from family studies in this area. Consequently, very little is known about children's and young people's needs or their understanding when visiting an adult intensive care unit.
Method:
Between 2002 and 2005, nine family interviews (12 adults and 12 children) were conducted. A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed in gathering and analysing data.
Findings:
The way in which children and young people discussed their intensive care visiting experiences suggest two different levels of understanding. Children tended to speak about intensive care on a concrete level, focusing on the environment (intensive care unit as environment). Young people, in contrast, understood their visiting experiences on an abstract level, focusing on the function of intensive care (intensive care unit as function).
Conclusion:
A structured and age-appropriate approach to support children visiting an adult intensive care unit still needs to be developed. It is time for nurses to reflect on current practice, challenge beliefs and attitudes towards child visitation. Crucially, nurses need education in listening skills and understanding children and young people's needs when an adult family member is in an intensive care unit. Further research is needed to develop appropriate support interventions and to investigate the importance and effects of intensive care unit visiting on children and young people.
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