Selected indicators of parents’ emotional state vs. parents’ satisfaction with nursing care provided to their child suffering from Crohn’s disease – preliminary report

Introduction:
For parents of paediatric patients the need to hospitalize a child for Crohn’s disease may be associated with stress and negative emo-tions, which determines their perception of services received and satisfaction with nursing care. Aim of the study was assessment of parents’ satisfaction with nursing care provided to a child hospitalized for Crohn’s disease, tak-ing into consideration potential determinants such as levels of depression, anxiety, aggression, and perceived stress.

Material and methods:
The study was conducted in a group of 84 parents of children hospitalized in the Gastroenterology and Paediatrics Department of the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow. The research tools included the HADS-M scale, the PSS-10 scale, the Standardized Sur-vey Questionnaire of Parents/Guardians’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care in the Paediatrics Department and the authors’ own ques-tionnaire.

Results:
Parents’ satisfaction with nursing care provided to a child suffering from Crohn’s disease proved to be high. The highest level of satisfaction was related to the availability of the nurse, while parents’ participation in providing care was rated lower. Parents of children over the age of 10 years expressed a higher level of satisfaction with care than parents of younger children. A lower level of satisfaction regarding the nurses’ availability and professional approach was declared by the parents of children admitted to the hospital due to a sudden illness. Almost half of the respondents reported high levels of perceived stress and anxiety. Higher levels of anxiety and aggression were found in parents aged under 35 years. Parents with higher levels of stress and aggression were less sat-isfied with selected nursing care criteria.

Conclusions:
During their children’s hospitalization, parents experienced stress and negative emotions. Their level of satisfaction with their child’s nursing care was high. Significant determinants of satisfaction were the age of the child, the reason for hospitalization, and the level of stress and aggression.