This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Shields, L. Articles by McCann, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shields, L. Articles by McCann, D. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The needs of parents of hospitalized children in Australia

University of Hull, Hull, UK, University of Queensland, Australia and University of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden and Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, L.Shields{at}hull.ac.uk

Jeanine Young, PhD, FRCNA, RGN, EM, BSc Hons Nursing, AdvDip Nursing Care

Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, University of Queensland, Australia

Damhnat McCann, MPH, GDip Paed, RGN, MRCNA

School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia

The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of needs held by parents of hospitalized children with those held by the staff caring for them. Family-centred care is a central tenet of paediatrics and should encompass all aspects of the child and family's experience of hospitalization. Important to this are the needs of parents when their children are hospitalized. A widely used and validated tool was used with a convenience sample in paediatric facilities in a children's hospital in Australia. Some differences were found between parents and staff for scores for perceived importance of the 51 needs included in the questionnaire, and whether or not they were being met satisfactorily during children's hospital admission, although there were no consistent patterns. Parents declared themselves more independent than the staff perceived them to be. These findings facilitate improvements in communication between parents and staff and can be included in education programmes for both.

Key Words: nursing • parents • health needs instrument

Journal of Child Health Care, Vol. 12, No. 1, 60-75 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1367493507085619


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?