Registered Nurses’ Experiences Pertaining to Family Involvement in the Care of Hospitalised Children at a Tertiary Government Hospital in Malawi

Abstract

Families need to be involved in the care of hospitalised children because they are custodians of valuable information for the provision of individualised care. Tertiary hospitals need to involve families because they provide specialised care, which may be a source of stress for children. At one of the tertiary government hospitals in Malawi, the average nurse-patient ratio in the paediatric unit is 1:84. Nurses are expected to involve families in care. Evidence shows that nurses’ experiences with family involvement shape the way care is delivered. However, little is known about nurses’ experiences of family involvement in the care of hospitalised children at this tertiary hospital. The objective of the study was to describe registered nurses’ experiences when involving families in the care of hospitalised children. A descriptive qualitative design using a semi-structured interview guide was used. Fourteen full-time registered nurses were recruited and data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that registered nurses were knowledgeable about family involvement but their experiences were mixed. Themes that emerged from the data were registered nurses’ knowledge of family involvement, registered nurses’ experiences of family involvement and registered nurses’ impression of family involvement. The findings reveal that family involvement in the care of hospitalised children by nurses is desirable, but should be regulated. However, the findings reveal that although registered nurses involved family members, implementation of family involvement was inconsistent and problematic. This status quo may continue unless authorities develop a policy to regulate family involvement in child care.