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Children's Perceptions About the Quality of Pediatric Nursing Care: A Large Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study
Dania Comparcini1, Valentina Simonetti2, Marco Tomietto3
1Head Nurse, Department of Medicine and Science of Aging, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti -, Italy.
Insights
Children value nurses
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Patient Experience
- Healthcare Quality
Background:
- Understanding children's perspectives on nursing care is crucial for improving healthcare quality.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the specific factors influencing pediatric patient satisfaction across different age groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore children's perceptions of nursing care quality.
- To identify the key determinants of children's evaluations of nursing care based on age categories.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter, cross-sectional study involving 692 pediatric patients in Italian hospitals.
- A validated 49-item questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale assessed perceptions of nurse characteristics, activities, and the environment.
Main Results:
- Children's overall hospitalization experience scored a mean of 3.96.
- Nurse characteristics (mean = 3.79) positively correlated with satisfaction across all age groups (4-6, 7-11, 12-14 years).
- Nurse characteristics were the sole significant factor influencing satisfaction in all age categories.
Conclusions:
- Nurse characteristics are paramount in determining pediatric patient satisfaction.
- The ability of nurses to connect with children is more critical than task-based skills for positive patient experiences.
Introduction:
This study explored children's perceptions about the quality of nursing care and the determinants of their evaluations according to different categories of children's ages.
Design:
Multicenter cross-sectional study carried out on 692 pediatric patients in eight large Italian regional hospitals.
Methods:
We used a validated questionnaire, translated and adapted to the Italian context, consisting of 49 items (5-point Likert scale) exploring nurse characteristics, nursing activities, and nursing environment.
Findings:
The mean score of children's perceptions of their overall experience of hospitalization was 3.96; the nurse characteristics factor obtained the highest score (mean = 3.79), and it was in positive correlation with the satisfaction level across different age categories: 4 to 6 years, β = .37; 7 to 11 years, β = .31; and 12 to 14 years, β = .32.
Conclusions:
Nurse characteristics is the only significant factor contributing to children's satisfaction across the three different age categories.
Clinical Relevance:
In pediatric nursing care, it is important to emphasize that nurses' personal characteristics and the ability to connect with children are essential compared to the ability to perform tasks.