Family-centred care in a paediatric hospital as seen from the perspective of a nurse and a parent

Introduction:
The study evaluated the involvement of parents in the care of hospitalized children from the perspective of nurses and parents.

Material and methods:
The research was based on an original questionnaire conducted with 289 nurses and 271 parents of hospitalized children.

Results:
Hospital regulations are available for the parents according to 95.2% of the nurses and 76.7% of the parents. The older the hospitalized child, the more significant observing the hospital regulations was to the parents (p < 0.02). Also, complying with the epidemiological principles was dependent upon the age of the child (p < 0.0001). In total, 97.4% of the parents and 95.2% of the nurses, regardless of education level, specialization, or duration of employment, described the presence of the parents with their children in the hospital as necessary, and 46.4% of the nurses and 70.8% of the parents reported the presence of the parents at night as important. The necessity for a 24-hour stay with their child was greatest for parents with primary education, and the least was for university-educated parents (p < 0.02). The nurses reported that the constant presence of the parents seldom reduced their responsibilities. The nurses with specialization more often reported an increased workload as compared to non-specialized nurses (p < 0.02). Also, the assessment of the parent’s involvement in caregiving activities was dependent on the nurses’ specialization (p < 0.02) and length of employment (p < 0.05). Declared readiness to perform care-associated activities involving their child increased with the increasing age of the parent (p < 0.05) and was also dependent on the profile of the ward (p < 0.005).

Conclusions:
According to nurses’ and parents’ opinions, the presence of the parents with their child in hospital during the day is necessary, but not always during the night. Despite the engagement of the parents in care-associated activities, their presence causes an increased workload for the nurses.