Parents' Experiences of Holding Their Child for Healthcare Procedures: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

To explore parents' experiences of holding children for healthcare procedures in an Australian paediatric hospital setting.

A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken at a paediatric tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children who had undergone a procedure during their hospital admission. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Eight parents were interviewed, with four themes becoming apparent from their experiences, representing the multiple roles parents undertook when holding their child for a procedure. Parent as a protector was identified as the overarching role, with all roles involving aspects of parents protecting their child. The remaining roles included comforter-where parents supported their child by providing reassurance and being present; helper-where parents actively sought a role or stepped up to assist during a procedure and enforcer-where at times parents had a belief that to facilitate some procedures holding was necessary. A sliding-scale schema illustrates that these roles are not static, but rather positioned along a continuum, with some parents moving between roles throughout a procedure.

This study provided valuable insight into the complexity of parents' involvement when supporting their child during a procedure. The varying roles suggest parents balance the desire for their child to feel safe (holding as a comforter) with wanting to get the procedure done (holding as an enforcer).

This research impacts clinicians, parents and children involved in healthcare procedures. Clinicians can use the sliding-scale schema that illustrates the distinct roles parents can take on, as a visual tool to promote parental involvement and help parents define their role during a procedure.

Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guideline was utilised when reporting findings.

No patient or public contribution.