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Parents' Experience During a Child's Resuscitation: Getting Through It
1University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City, Iowa United States of America; University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa United States of America.
Insights
Parents want to be present and informed during their child's hospital resuscitation. Real-time clinical information and staff connection are crucial for navigating this chaotic, emotional experience.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care
- Parental experience in healthcare
- Qualitative research methods
Background:
- Childhood resuscitation is a critical event.
- Parental presence during pediatric resuscitation is increasingly common.
- Understanding parental experiences is vital for improving care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and understand the lived experiences of parents whose children underwent resuscitation in a hospital setting.
- To identify key themes and factors influencing parental perceptions during pediatric resuscitation.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative descriptive study design.
- Conducted in a 280-bed children's hospital.
- Semi-structured interviews with parents (1-12 months post-event) followed by thematic analysis.
Main Results:
- Four major themes emerged: "Overwhelming chaos," "Getting through it," "Cognitive presence," and "Joy mixed with heartache."
- Parents described intense stress but also coping mechanisms and a need for understanding.
- Key factors included the need for presence, real-time information, and staff investment.
Conclusions:
- Parents desire presence and information during pediatric resuscitation, despite the chaos.
- Real-time clinical updates and perceived staff investment significantly impact parental experience.
- Healthcare providers should facilitate parental presence, provide clear information, and foster personal connections.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to elucidate the experiences of parents during their child's resuscitation in the hospital setting.
Design And Methods:
This qualitative descriptive study took place in a 280 bed children's hospital with parents whose children experienced resuscitation while they were present in the room or nearby. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between one and twelve months following a child's resuscitation. A rigorous thematic analysis was performed.
Results:
This study elucidates parent experience during a child's resuscitation using four overarching themes; "Overwhelming chaos", "Getting through it", "Cognitive presence" and "Joy mixed with heartache". Parents described their experience to be stressful, yet identified things that helped them get through it and make sense of the experience.
Conclusions:
During a child's resuscitation parents perceived a sense of overwhelming chaos, yet still had an innate need to be present and know what was going on. While emotional support was appreciated, most important was to receive real time clinical information from healthcare staff and to see and feel that the team was personally invested in their child.
Practice Implications:
During a child's resuscitation, parents should be allowed to choose their level of presence to meet their individual needs. A clinical staff member should answer questions and share clinical information with parents. In addition, clinicians should allow themselves to connect with parents on a personal level. This research provides a foundation for further study, including parents' experience after experiencing a child's resuscitation.