Provider Perspectives on Partnering With Parents of Hospitalized Children to Improve Safety

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of patient and family engagement for improving patient safety. Our purpose in this study was to understand health care team perspectives on parent-provider safety partnerships for hospitalized US children to complement a parallel study of parent perspectives.

Our research team, including a family advisor, conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups of a purposive sample of 20 inpatient pediatric providers (nurses, patient care technicians, physicians) in an acute-care pediatric unit at a US urban tertiary hospital. We used a constant comparison technique and qualitative thematic content analysis.

Themes emerged from providers on facilitators, barriers, and role negotiation and/or balancing interpersonal interactions in parent-provider safety partnership. Facilitators included the following: (1) mutual respect of roles, (2) parent advocacy and rule-following, and (3) provider quality care, empathetic adaptability, and transparent communication of expectations. Barriers included the following: (1) lack of respect, (2) differences in parent versus provider risk perception and parent lack of availability, and (3) provider medical errors and inconsistent communication, lack of engagement skills and time, and fear of overwhelming information. Providers described themes related to balancing parent advocacy with clinician's expertise, a provider's personal response to challenges to the professional role, and parents balancing relationship building with escalating safety concerns.

To keep children safe in the hospital, providers balance perceived challenges to their personal and professional roles continuously in interpersonal interactions, paralleling parent concerns about role ambiguity and trust. Understanding these shared barriers to and facilitators of parent-provider safety partnerships can inform system design, parent education, and professional training.