An exploration of parental, nurse, and physician perceptions of family-centered care and the pediatric surgical process

The purpose of this study was to assess parental and medical staff perceptions of the implementation of family-centered care during the surgical process at a pediatric hospital. Both children and parents experience hospitalization as a stressful process often characterized by painful, frightening medical procedures, interactions with strangers, and a loss of control and decision-making abilities. Medical staff members can play a vital role in alleviating parental distress by providing clear and consistent communication, support, and collaboration with parents throughout their child’s hospital care and recovery. Therefore, this study specifically sought to examine parental and medical staff members’ perceptions of the provision and importance of three types of social support: informational, emotional, and instrumental. This study also sought to examine the relationship between parental perceived provision and importance of social support and parental perceived stress. Qualitative questions were utilized to gather additional information regarding parents’ and medical staff members’ experiences throughout the surgical process. The sample for this study included 117 parents of surgical patients and 51 medical staff members (nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists) at a pediatric hospital in the southwestern United States. The quantitative data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U Tests, Kruskal-Wallis Tests, and correlational analysis. Qualitative data were examined to identify major themes that have supported and contrasted with the quantitative results. The findings of this study revealed statistically significant differences between the perceived provision and importance of social support types among participant groups. Results also indicated statistically significant associations between parental perceptions of the provision and importance of social support type and parental perceived stress. These significant findings serve to inform care for families during the surgical process and guide future research in this area.