Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Sep;12(5):e211-5.
doi: 10.1097/PCC.0b013e3181fe3193.

Differences in the perceptions of parents and healthcare professionals on pediatric intensive care practices

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Differences in the perceptions of parents and healthcare professionals on pediatric intensive care practices

Jos M Latour et al. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To explore similarities and differences in perceptions on pediatric intensive care practices between parents and staff by using data from two studies.

Design: A two-round Delphi method among nurses and physicians followed by an empiric survey among parents.

Settings: Pediatric intensive care units at eight university medical centers.

Subjects: Parents whose child has been admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit, nurses, and physicians.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: Outcome measures were 74 satisfaction-with-care items divided into five domains: 1) information; 2) care and cure; 3) organization; 4) parental participation; and 5) professional attitude. The Delphi study was completed by 218 nurses and 46 physicians and the survey by 559 of 1042 (54%) parents. Parents rated 31 items more important than the professionals based on the standardized mean difference (Cohen's d, 0.21-1.18, p < .003). Ten of these were related to information provision. Information on the effects of medication had the largest effect size (Cohen's d 1.18, p = .001). Correct medication administration by professionals was also rated significantly more important by parents (Cohen's d 0.64, p = .001). The professionals rated 12 items more important than the parents (Cohen's d -0.23 to -0.73, p < .005), including three about multicultural care. Significant differences remained on two of the three multicultural care items when the Dutch (n = 483) and non-Dutch parents (n = 76) were separately compared with professionals. On the domain level, parents rated the domains information and parental participation more important than the professionals (Cohen's d 0.36 and 0.26, p = .001).

Conclusions: Compared with the parents' perceptions, nurses and physicians undervalued a substantial number of pediatric intensive care unit care items. This finding may reflect a gap in the understanding of parental experiences as well as incongruity in recognizing the needs of parents.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources