RNQualitativeNursing in critical care2026

Parents' Perspectives of Child-Centred Care: A Qualitative Study With Parents After Paediatric Intensive Care Units Discharge.

Selma Boufaied, Mariana Odisho, Lina Bergman and 1 others

PMID 41542881

WHAT IT FOUND

Parents after paediatric intensive care discharge said safety came from timely, clear information, continuity with nurses, and a welcoming place to stay.

When they felt safe, they could be mentally present and partner in their child's care.

Key findings

01Parents felt safer when they received adequate, timely information and could interact with the care team.

02Continuity with nurses and assistant nurses mattered more than continuity with physicians because nursing staff were present all day.

03Nighttime access and distance from family accommodation made it hard for parents to stay close to their child.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

The study included parents from a single Swedish paediatric intensive care unit, so it may not reflect other units or countries. 20 parents were interviewed, and the sample was limited to parents fluent in Swedish or English. Interviews took place in 2019, and parents were asked to recall their child's stay three to six months after discharge. The interviews were conducted by a nurse who was known to the parents, which could have shaped what they said. Children's own experiences were not collected, so the findings are parents' perspectives.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read these themes as evidence that child-centred care improves clinical outcomes. They are parents' retrospective accounts from the studied unit, and the children's own perspectives were not collected.

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