How is Family Centered Care Perceived by Healthcare Providers from Different Countries? An International Comparison...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Cross-Cultural Healthcare Research
• Family Systems Theory

Background:

• Family-centered care (FCC) is a vital healthcare model integrating families into pediatric care planning.
• Understanding provider perceptions of FCC is crucial for effective implementation across diverse healthcare systems.
• Cultural and systemic variations significantly influence healthcare delivery models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare healthcare providers' perceptions of family-centered care (FCC) across the United States, Australia, and Turkey.
• To identify a psychometric measure reflecting "family-centeredness" in pediatric care.
• To analyze attitudes towards caring for hospitalized children and their families.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey design utilizing the Working with Families questionnaire.
• Pediatric healthcare providers (n=476) from the United States, Australia, and Turkey participated.
• The questionnaire was translated to capture perceptions of caring for hospitalized children and parents.

Main Results:

• Healthcare providers reported significantly more positive attitudes towards caring for children than parents across all countries.
• The U.S. and Turkey showed higher child-focused scores compared to Australia.
• U.S. and Australian parent-focused scores were higher than Turkey's.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare provider perceptions of family-centered care vary significantly across different countries and healthcare systems.
• Family-centered care (FCC) scores differed between nurses and physicians and correlated with age, number of children, and education.
• The study provides insights into cultural influences on FCC and suggests the FCS score's utility in assessing interventions.