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Parental experience of transition from a paediatric intensive care unit to a general ward: A qualitative study
Jianlin Ji1, Liling Yang1, Hanlin Yang1
1School of Nursing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Parents need better support during their child's transition from the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to a general ward. Improved communication, flexible visiting, and family-integrated care are crucial for critical illness children and their families.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric intensive care nursing
- Family-centered care
- Qualitative health research
Background:
- Parents play a vital role in caring for critically ill children.
- Existing nursing care often falls short of parental expectations.
- Limited research exists on Chinese parents' experiences during pediatric intensive care unit to general ward transitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore parental experiences during the transition from pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to a general ward.
- To investigate parental involvement in the care of critically ill children.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews with 24 parents of critically ill children in Shanghai.
- Qualitative data analysis using framework analysis.
- NVivo software used for transcript management.
Main Results:
- Four key themes emerged: child's post-PICU changes, parental emotional experiences, transition influencing factors, and suggestions for improved care.
- Parents expressed a need for flexible visiting policies and social media support.
- Accurate information, family-integrated care, and enhanced ward support were identified as critical needs.
Conclusions:
- Understanding parental experiences is vital for improving transitional care and nursing management.
- Interventions should focus on enhancing communication, family-integrated care, and support services.
- Addressing unmet parental needs can improve nursing quality and patient outcomes.
Aim:
We aim to explore parental experience in transitioning from a paediatric intensive care unit to a general ward and to investigate parental involvement in caring for their critical illness children.
Background:
Parents have a major responsibility in caring for seriously ill children, but nursing staff fail to meet the expectations of parents regarding nursing care. Few studies have investigated the challenges and needs of Chinese parents during the transition from paediatric intensive care unit to general ward.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 parents of children with critical illness in a paediatric hospital in Shanghai, mainland China to explore their views. Transcripts were entered into NVivo. Framework analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.
Results:
Four themes were identified by data analysis: changes in the child during post paediatric intensive care unit periods; experiencing a wide range of emotions; factors involved in the transition; and suggestions for improving transitional care.
Conclusions:
Due to the unmet needs of parents, a more flexible visiting policy and social media support were highly desirable. Getting accurate information, establishing family integrated care, and strengthening ward-based critical support services were also listed as important needs of parents caring for critically ill children.
Implications For Nursing Management:
A profound understanding of parental experiences during the transitional period can help nursing staff to assess the effects on children and their families, improve ward-based intensive care, support parental participation, and improve visitation policies. Based on these findings, nurse managers can develop reasonable intervention programmes in order to improve nursing quality and patient outcomes.
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