Parental Presence in Pediatric Interfacility Critical Care Transport: A Descriptive Study of Children, Parents, and Health Care Professionals’ Opinions

Abstract

ObjectiveParental accompaniment during transport is considered a core quality metrics in pediatric transport and a key measure of family-centered care in this setting. However, children's opinions on this topic have never been sought. The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinion of different actors of a specialized pediatric transport system on parental presence during transport. MethodsThis was a questionnaire-based descriptive study. Health care professionals qualified to be part of our pediatric transport team, and parents of hospitalized children completed self-administered surveys. Hospitalized children from 5 to 17 years of age were interviewed with a short verbal semistructured questionnaire using sentence completion. ResultsNinety-three professionals, 65 parents, and 25 children completed the questionnaires between February and August 2018. The majority of children (84%) thought that it would be important to be accompanied by their parent if they needed interfacility transport. All of the parents and 79% of health care professionals thought that parents should have the possibility to be present with their children during interfacility transport. ConclusionAll of the parents and the majority of health care providers and children interviewed think that parents should be able to be present with their child during interfacility transport.