Saria Vivian Frank, Mselle Lilian Teddy, Siceloff Birgit Anne
1Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, PO Box 3010, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
2Department of Clinical Nursing, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, PO Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
BMC Nurs. 2019 Nov 13;18:54. doi: 10.1186/s12912-019-0381-8. eCollection 2019.
Parents have significant responsibility in the care of their critically ill children who have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). When staying with their children in the hospital, they also have particular needs that should be adequately acknowledged and responded to by healthcare providers. Moreover, when their needs are not identified and addressed, parents may experience stress and anxiety as a result. This study describes the needs of parents caring for hospitalized critically ill children, as perceived by parents and nurses.
This study used a descriptive qualitative research design. Five focus group discussions with nurses and parents of critically ill children, who were purposefully recruited, were conducted at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre Hospital. A qualitative content analysis guided the analysis of the data.
Two themes emerged from the perceptions of parents and nurses about the needs of parents caring for hospitalized critically ill children. These were: "engaging parents in the care of their children" and "receiving psychosocial support". Both parents and nurses identified the importance of providing adequate information about their children's progress, encouraging and involving parents in the care of their children and having flexible visiting time for parents was vital when caring for critically ill children.
This study provides an in-depth understanding of parents' needs when caring for critically ill children in the hospital setting. Nurses caring for these children should understand the needs of parents and integrate the parents into the daily care of their children. Nurses should also continuously support, inform and engage parents during child-caring procedures. Finally, visiting times for intensive care units should be flexible and allow more time for parents to connect with their hospitalized children.
父母在照顾入住重症监护病房（ICU）的重病患儿方面负有重大责任。当他们在医院陪伴孩子时，也有特殊需求，医疗服务提供者应充分认识并予以回应。此外，如果他们的需求未得到识别和解决，父母可能会因此感到压力和焦虑。本研究描述了父母和护士所感知的照顾住院重病患儿的父母的需求。
本研究采用描述性定性研究设计。在乞力马扎罗基督教医疗中心医院，对经过有目的招募的重症患儿的护士和父母进行了五次焦点小组讨论。定性内容分析指导了数据分析。
父母和护士对照顾住院重症患儿的父母的需求的看法中出现了两个主题。它们是：“让父母参与孩子的护理”和“获得心理社会支持”。父母和护士都认为，提供有关孩子病情进展的充分信息、鼓励并让父母参与孩子的护理以及为父母提供灵活的探视时间对于照顾重症患儿至关重要。
本研究深入了解了父母在医院环境中照顾重症患儿时的需求。照顾这些孩子的护士应该了解父母的需求，并让父母融入孩子的日常护理中。护士还应在护理过程中持续支持、告知并让父母参与进来。最后，重症监护病房的探视时间应该灵活，为父母留出更多时间与住院的孩子联系。
