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Parents' experiences of their child being admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit: a qualitative study-like
Pia Dahav1, Annica Sjöström-Strand2
1Department of Pediatrics, PICU, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Insights
Parents need information and involvement when their child is in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This helps manage the stress and fear associated with this critical situation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Intensive Care
- Parental Experience
- Child Health
Background:
- Limited research exists on parental experiences in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
- Understanding these experiences can improve parental support and coping mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the experiences of parents whose children were admitted to a PICU.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving interviews with 12 parents.
- Content analysis was used to analyze interview data.
Main Results:
- Key themes included 'being involved' and 'being informed'.
- Subcategories identified were 'caring for parents,' 'security and trust,' 'altering parental role,' 'stress and fear,' 'importance of knowing,' 'interaction in care,' and 'being prepared.'
- An overarching theme was the feeling of being 'in another world.'
Conclusions:
- PICU admission is highly stressful for parents, involving significant emotion and fear.
- Involvement, good information, and a smooth transfer to the ward can reduce parental anxiety.
- Findings can inform the development of post-PICU follow-up services.
Background:
There is very little research on the parent's experiences of having a child admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit. Identifying and describing 'such experiences' could facilitate better parental support from the paediatric intensive care team and help the parents manage a stressful situation.
Aims:
This study aimed to describe parents' experiences of having their child admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit.
Methods:
Interviews were conducted with 12 parents whose children had been admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit. A qualitative design was used, and the interviews were analysed based on content analysis.
Result:
The analysis revealed two categories: 'being involved' and 'being informed' with seven subcategories: 'caring for the parents', 'security and trust', 'altering the parental role', 'stress and fear', 'the importance of knowing', 'interaction in the care process' and 'being prepared'. An overarching theme emerged: the experience was 'like being in another world'. The study concludes that a child's admission to a paediatric intensive care unit is a stressful situation, and for the parents to be able to handle the anxiety and stress, they need to be informed of and involved in their child's care.
Conclusions:
The parents' experience when their child is admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit is fraught with a range of emotion and fear. There are indications that things such as good information, involvement and a positive experience of the transfer to the paediatric ward reduce the stress and anxiety associated with paediatric intensive care admission. The result of this study could be used as a basis for a post-paediatric intensive care follow-up service for the children and their families.
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