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
. 2023 Oct 1;24(10):e498-e504.
doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000003284. Epub 2023 May 23.

Visiting Policies and Parental Presence During PICU Admission: A Survey in French Units

Manon Bergerat  1 , Laure De Saint Blanquat  1 , Christophe Milesi  2 , Marion Grimaud  1 , Fleur Le Bourgeois  3 , Sylvain Renolleau  1 , Marie Pouletty  1 , Mehdi Oualha  1   4 , Stéphane Leteurtre  5 , Morgan Recher  5 , Agathe Béranger  4   6
Affiliations

Visiting Policies and Parental Presence During PICU Admission: A Survey in French Units

Manon Bergerat et al. Pediatr Crit Care Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the policies about parent visiting and involvement in care during admission to French PICUs.

Design: A structured questionnaire was emailed to the chief of each of 35 French PICUs. Data about visiting policies, involvement in care, evolution of policies, and general characteristics were collected from April 2021 to May 2021. A descriptive analysis was conducted.

Setting: Thirty-five PICUs in France.

Patients: None.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: Twenty-nine of 35 (83%) PICUs replied. Twenty-four-hour access for parents was reported for all PICUs responding. Other allowed visitors were grandparents (21/29, 72%) and siblings (19/29, 66%) with professional support. Simultaneous visits were restricted to two visitors in 83% (24/29) of PICUs. Family presence was always permitted during medical rounds for 20 of 29 (69%) PICUs. Most of the units rarely or never allowed parental presence during the most invasive procedures, such as central venous catheter placement (18/29, 62%) and intubation (22/29, 76%).

Conclusions: Unrestricted access to the PICU, for both parents, was available in all responding French units. There were, however, restrictions on the number of visitors and the presence of other family members at the bedside. Moreover, permission for parental presence during care procedures was heterogenous, and mainly restricted. National guidelines and educational programs are needed to support family wishes and promote acceptance by healthcare providers in French PICUs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. European Association for Children in Hospital Charter. 1988. Available at: http://www.each-for-sick-children.org/each-charter/ . Accessed February 1, 2023
    1. Société de Réanimation de Langue Française (SRLF), Association RéaProche, Institut Français de l’Expérience Patient (IFEP): Recommandations pour les visites des proches en réanimation. 2021. Available at: https://www.srlf.org/sites/www.srlf.org/files/medias/documents/Recommand... . Accessed September 29, 2022
    1. United Nations: Convention on the Rights of the Child. 1990. Available at: https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/unicef-convention-r... . Accessed September 29, 2022
    1. Committee on hospital care and institute for patient- and family-centered care: Patient- and family-centered care and the pediatrician’s role. Pediatrics. 2012; 129:394–404
    1. Béranger A, Pierron C, de Saint Blanquat L, et al.: Communication, information, and roles of parents in the pediatric intensive care unit: A review article. Arch Pediatr. 2017; 24:265–272

LinkOut - more resources