Abstract
AimTo explore parents' experiences on parental involvement in decision‐making about their child's health care at the hospital and to identify how health professionals can improve parental involvement.DesignAn explorative descriptive qualitative study within a constructivist research paradigm.MethodsIndividual semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 parents. Qualitative content analysis was performed.ResultsThis study gives unique insight into how parental involvement in children's healthcare decisions influence parents' ability to cope with the parental role at the hospital. The results showed that parents' competence and perceived influence and control over their child's health care appeared to affect how they mastered their role of involvement in decision‐making. Individually tailored and respectful facilitation of parental involvement in these decisions by health professionals seemed to improve parents' influence, control and ability to cope with the parental role. Nurses should thus strengthen parents' sense of coherence enhancing the quality of health care.
Highlights
Patient involvement in health services‐related DM is a complex concept and includes several approaches (Entwistle & Watt, 2006; Thompson, 2007)
Tailored and respectful facilitation of parental involvement in these decisions by health professionals seemed to improve parents’ influence, control and ability to cope with the parental role
The findings extend previous research on parental involvement in DM concerning children’s health care from a health promotion perspective
Summary
Patient involvement in health services‐related DM is a complex concept and includes several approaches (Entwistle & Watt, 2006; Thompson, 2007). The shared DM model is a part of this approach were the parents and the HPs are expected to share information and reach consensus (Kon, 2010) This model is relevant when parents participate in DM concerning the customizing and preparation of their child’s health care. The parents’ influence is restricted by HPs’ responsi‐ bility of giving a health care that is justifiable and within the hospi‐ tal’s framework (Patients’ Rights Act, 1999). Another DM approach focus on parents’ cognitive and emotional information processing, where psychosocial factors and health literacy are important as‐ pects (Edwards, Davies, & Edwards, 2009; Entwistle & Watt, 2006). Health literacy refers to the essential cognitive and social skills par‐ ents need when acquiring knowledge and using information to make decisions about their child’s health and health care (Nutbeam, 2009)
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