Abstract PCCLB-35: ASSESSMENT OF PARENTAL SATISFACTION IN A PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE

Abstract

Aims & Objectives: Parental satisfaction has become a tool to assess quality of care in Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and valuable device to assess healthcare interventions. Such studies are lacking in developing countries.Hence, we planned to identify parental satisfaction in PICU within three domains: information & attitudes, clinical care and organization, and identify socio-demographic and clinical variables that affect satisfaction. Methods Prospective observational study was conducted in PICU of tertiary care center (India) over 4 months after ethics committee approval. Parents of 50 children admitted to PICU for more than 48 hours were administered a re-validated 37-item questionnaire (Pyramid Questionnaire) adapted to Indian setup. Demographic and clinical details were recorded and open non-structured feedback was obtained. Results Overall, parents had fairly good knowledge about their child’s illness, were well acquainted with information routines and satisfied with overall medical care. Staff attitude and participation was favorable and work environment was extremely positive. However, staff introduction was inadequate indicating a need to improve communication skills. Parents with PICU stay greater than 14 days, gave significantly higher rating for staff introduction and opportunities for participation in care, while parents of mechanically ventilated children were very anxious about their child’s illness, judging it as extremely severe (p<0.05). On comparing education levels, graduates knew whom to direct questions, physician in charge and were more confident regarding staff skills, support and overall information routines (p<0.05). Conclusions This study provides groundwork for means to measure parental experiences and satisfaction, clinical implication of which is understanding and collaboration between parents and health care providers.