The Parent–Child Patient Unit (PCPU): Evidence-Based Patient Room Design and Parental Distress in Pediatric Cancer Centers

Abstract

Children with cancer are frequently hospitalized during diagnosis and treatment. Since the early 1980s, parents are co-admitted because their presence positively affects children’s adjustment to hospitalization and reduces post-traumatic stress. However, the size and overall architectural design of the rooms were never adapted to the doubling of the occupancy rate. Since studies show that many parents experience high levels of distress due to their child’s illness, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the architecture of the aged patient rooms on parental distress. A video observation targeted parent–child interaction related to five architectural determinants: (a) function and place of interaction, (b) distance between parent and child, (c) used space, (d) withdrawal, and (e) duration of the interaction. A total of 22 families were included in two Dutch children’s hospitals. Results show a significant association between parental distress and three architectural determinants: The less anxious the parents were and the better they estimated their child’s well-being, the more distance they created between themselves and their child, and the more space, privacy, and withdrawal options were used. These findings are discussed within a new patient room typology, the parent–child patient unit (PCPU), which reacts to the evident association of parental distress and the design.