Sibling visitation in pediatric hospitals: policies, opinions, and issues.

In recent years, pediatric hospitals have made many adjustments in their routine regulations in order to promote the emotional health of child patients and their families. In response to recommendations of such organizations as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association for the Care of Children's Health, many institutions are liberalizing their visitation policies to include siblings of hospitalized children. In order to discover answers to questions about what is being done regarding this issue, the authors undertook an informal mail survey to explore the current situation primarily in the United States. The purposes of this study were to conduct surveys of: (a) state health departments to determine the existence of state regulations regarding sibling visitation; (b) pediatric hospitals to determine specific visitation policies; and (c) pediatricians and epidemiologists closely associated with hospitalized children to determine opinions regarding risks and benefits associated with sibling visitation.