Hospitalization of children for surgery: the parents' view.

A qualitative study based on interviews with nine families was implemented to explore the parental experience when a child is hospitalized for surgery. Participant observation during the stress points identified in the literature and interviews with parents both in the hospital and in the home after the child was discharged were the major sources of data. Sources of parental stress, parental roles during the child's hospitalization, coping strategies used by parents, and parents' suggestions for health care professionals, particularly nursing staff, were explored. The need for health care professionals to make themselves available to parents and to negotiate roles with parents were key findings.