Frontline of infection control: Parents caring for high-risk children

Parents play an essential role in their child's care, including infection prevention and control (IPC), during hospitalisation. Despite this, their role in IPC is not clearly defined. This study explored how parents of children admitted to an Australian tertiary paediatric hospital understand and participate in IPC initiatives. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in oncology/haematology, adolescent, and surgical wards, involving semi-structured interviews with 24 parents and 2 mature minors. Data were analysed thematically using the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices model as a deductive framework. Three themes were derived, highlighting parents' engagement in IPC. Heightened parental vigilance involved maintaining hygiene, monitoring their child's condition, educating children, and seeking clarification when clinical communication or staff practice was inconsistent. Balancing infection risk with daily life involved recognising the ubiquity of infections, managing community exposures, and weighing risk against their child's need for a normal life. Hospital care was seen as both a risk and a necessity, emphasising reliance on treatment and concerns about potential infection exposure. Parents' IPC efforts were ongoing and adapted to the realities of home, community exposure, and hospital admission. Their role in managing infection risk highlights the importance of integrating parents into IPC in paediatric care.