Obstacles Associated with Considering Family as Client (Family Centered Care)

Abstract

Family-centered care is commonly used to describe optimal health care as experienced by families. The main aim of this paper is to recognize the obstacles associated with considering family as client in Saudi Arabia. It is clear that the elements “Recognition of family individuality”, “Developmental needs”, “Parent/professional collaboration”, “Design of the health care system” and “Emotional support for staff” were strongly present in Saudi participants’ practice of family-centered care. The major obstacles of considering family as client are: Lack of staff, limited time to build trust and form relationships, and limited time to negotiate care. Moreover, Saudi participants said that language barriers limited their abilities to communicate with families, which in turn hindered their ability to practice family-centered care. This paper recommends that the approach of family-centered care within the context of nursing education in Saudi Arabia should be included.