Family-centred care for hospitalized children aged 0-12 Years: A systematic review of qualitative studies.

Abstract

Review question/objective The objective of the review is to synthesise the existing evidence on family and/or health providers’ experience of family-centred models of care for hospitalised children aged 0-12 years (excluding premature neonates). (*Some sections of this protocol are adopted or adapted from the Cochrane Systematic Review of family-centred care in hospitalised children 0-12 years (2007)1 and its update (2012)2 and are published here with permission from Wiley. A more detailed discussion of the development of the concept of family-centred care is available in these publications.) This review will consider studies that include hospitalised children aged 0-12 years (but excluding premature neonates), their family and/or health providers. Definitions Child/children: throughout this review, the term 'child' or 'children' is used to include all newborn infants, babies and children up to the age of 12 years being cared for in hospital; and all parts of hospitals that provide a service to children. The definitions of childhood can vary, and age limits are arbitrary. For the purpose of this review the National Library of Medicine's medical subject headings were used to define the age cut off of 12 years. However, we have excluded neonates born prematurely and who are patients in a neonatal intensive or special care nursery, as their requirements for family-centred care, and the ethics and philosophies of care around this particular group, are different to those in a ward/unit where full term infants and children are nursed.40 We have excluded studies about adolescents for similar reasons. Families: throughout the review the following definition of the family will be applied: The family is a basic social unit having as its nucleus two or more persons, irrespective of age, in which each of the following conditions are present: the members are related by blood, or marriage, or adoption, or by a contract which is either explicit or implied;the members communicate with each other in terms of defined social roles such as mother, father, wife, husband, daughter, son, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt; and they adopt or create and maintain common customs and traditions. TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS