What Does Family-Centered Care Mean to You? A Qualitative Study Examining Perceptions of Mothers of Children With Medical Complexity.
Vanessa C Fong, Jennifer Baumbusch, Koushambhi Khan and 4 others
PMID 41316806WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers of children with medical complexity said family-centered care meant choices, understanding home life, reassessing changing needs, a supported care network, and attention to parent mental health.
They warned against dumping all responsibility on parents.
Key findings
01Mothers said family-centered care meant being offered choices, including pros and cons, and being involved in decisions.
02They wanted professionals to re-evaluate and adapt care plans as family needs changed over time.
03They warned that empowering families should not mean shifting all accountability to parents without assessing readiness and capacity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The findings are perceptions from 19 mothers, not evidence that any care model improves outcomes. Most participants were white women fluent in English, and only 3 lived in rural communities, so the themes may not represent families who speak other languages, men, gender diverse parents, or remote families. The interviews were cross-sectional, so they could not follow the same families as needs changed over time. The study did not include fathers, other caregivers, or health care providers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these themes as proof that family-centered care improves child or family outcomes. They are reported perceptions from 19 mainly white, English-speaking mothers and do not test any service model.