Parents' perspective on unplanned return visits to the pediatric emergency department: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors leading to more than one time visit to the pediatric emergency department within 72 h, parental wishes and experiences with emergency nurses from the parents' perspective.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between April 15, 2023 and April 14, 2024 with 596 parents of children aged between 0 and 18 years who had return visits to the pediatric emergency department of a gynaecology and pediatrics hospital in the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye within 72 h after the first visit. Following the acquisition of written informed consent from the parents, the data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics of Children and Experiences of Parents Information Form.

RESULTS

From the perspective of the parents, the most common reasons for an unplanned return visit to the pediatric emergency department were that the child's health had deteriorated (24.1%), the child required further tests (23.8%), and the child had developed a different health condition (18.7%). During the first visit to the pediatric emergency department, parents most frequently wished to be allowed to be with the child (24.2%), to touch the child during the procedures (20.5%), to receive up-to-date information about the child's condition (20.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

In line with these results, it is thought that the frequency of unplanned return visits to pediatric emergency departments can be reduced by implementing adequate, accurate and effective planned discharge training in pediatric emergency departments. Pediatric emergency nurses can benefit from the perspectives of parents in their professional practices to improve the quality of care and reduce the number of unplanned return visits to the emergency department.