Pediatric nurses' and parents' perceptions of parental participation in the care of hospitalized children

The concept of family-centered pediatric nursing care includes the involvement of parents in the hospitalized child's care. This study examined the perceptions of mothers, fathers, and registered nurses about the importance of parental participation in the care of hospitalized children. Subjects completed a questionnaire rating the importance of parental involvement in three care giving activities: physical, psycho-spiritual, and preparation for inpatient and posthospital care. Mothers and fathers reported a greater importance for parental participation in all three care categories than nurses. Fathers differed from mothers in the areas of physical and psycho-spiritual care to which they gave less importance. Data on selected demographic characteristics of parents and nurses also were obtained. Limited associations were found between the three care categories and the demographic variables. For parents, the physical care variable was predicted by the parents' weekly work hours and their hospitalized child's age. For nurses, the physical care variable was predicted by the nurse's age, number of children living with the nurse, and years of nursing practice working with hospitalized children and their families. The preparation for inpatient and posthospital care variable was predicted by the nurse's education, full-time employment, and marital status. Clinical implications that can be useful to pediatric nursing staff and administrators included developing protocols aimed at promoting parental participation and translating the concept of parental participation into practice by using a list of institution-specific activities for measuring desired participation. Research implications included investigating the relation between the parents' participation attitudes and the actual care giving activities they complete.