Perception of needs of relatives of patients at pediatric intensive care units

Pediatric Critical Care has undergone important changes in the last decades. In order to adapt pediatric care to the patient-family binomial and guarantee its quality, the evaluation of the needs perceived by family members during hospital stay is becoming increasingly relevant.

To determine the perception of the needs of the relatives of patients admitted to the Pediatric Critical Care Units (PCCU) in a tertiary level hospital.

Cross-sectional descriptive observational quantitative study was run through the distribution of the modified version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI).

Parents or legal caregivers of patients admitted to two CCUs with >48 h stay between September 2023 and January 2024. Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed.

Eighty-four questionnaires were completed. The median total score on the questionnaire was 15.00, corresponding to a high perception of fulfillment of needs. The subscale with the highest degree of compliance of the needs was "Patient care" (3.00), followed by "Information and communication" (3.00) and "Family care" (4.50); the subscale "Possible perceived improvements" (4.50) was the one with the worst results. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the total score between units (p = 0.046) and according to the type of room (p = 0.016) and the educational level of the relatives (p = 0.049). No significant differences were found during the analysis of the remaining variables.

The findings suggest that the hospital environment, specifically type of room, have a significant impact on the perception of family members' needs fulfillment. It is considered essential to adapt pediatric critical care units in order to suit today's family-centered care approach.