Nurses' and Families' perceptions and practices and factors influencing the implementation of family-centred care for hospitalised children and their families.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore the perceptions of family-centred care among nurses and the family members of hospitalised children and investigate the facilitators of and barriers to the implementation of family-centred care in Malawi.

BACKGROUND

In Malawi, approximately 34% of children have long-term illnesses that require hospitalisation. Family-centred care ensures that the delivery of healthcare is grounded in partnerships between healthcare providers, patients and their families, which can improve the psychological well-being of families. However, there is lack a good understanding of how families and nurses perceive this concept, its facilitators and the barriers.

DESIGN

This was an exploratory qualitative study. Data were analysed deductively and inductively using the five-step qualitative content analysis method.

METHODS

Twenty-nine nurses and 31 families were recruited. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured and face-to-face individual interviews. The study was reported using the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS

Both nurses and families of hospitalised children recognised the importance of nurse-family partnerships in family-centred care. Four themes emerged as follows: Perceptions of family-centred care, elements of family-centred care, facilitators of family-centred care and barriers to family-centred care. Specific information to families and the religious beliefs of families were identified as important facilitator and barrier to family-centred care, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The implementation of family-centred care is promising in Malawi, as it is positively perceived by nurses and families, and its implementation is consistent with the Institute for Patient and Family-Centred Care Framework.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Our findings present the best practices, gaps and challenges in the context of a low-income country regrading implementation of family-centred care. Education programmes on family-centred care are crucial for sustaining the current gains.