Parent Satisfaction with Family-Centered Care (FCC) at a Pediatric Intermediary Cardiology Ward in Germany: Retrospective Analysis of Quality Management Data

Objectives: Family-centered Care (FCC) is an international standard of holistic care provision and defined as a health care approach that is respectful of and responsive to the needs and values of a family. Family-centered care has shown to improve the short- and long-term health outcomes of children and parents. To our knowledge, no empirical data on FCC in pediatric cardiac cohorts are available. The aim of this study is to explore parent satisfaction with FCC at a specialized clinic for pediatric cardiology.

Methods: Self-reported parent satisfaction with FCC can be assessed with the EMpowerment of PArents in The Intensive Care-30 Questionnaire (EMPATHIC-30). It is a self-report instrument consisting of 30 statements divided into five domains (information, care and cure, parental participation, organization, and professional attitude), with responses given on a 6-point scoring scale. We implemented the EMPATHIC-30 as part of the routine quality management at our clinic. Additional questions pertained to age of the child, duration of hospital stay, reason for admission to hospital, and mother tongue and place of birth of the parent. The questionnaires were handed to parents of children hospitalized at the pediatric intermediary cardiology ward at discharge from hospital.

Result: So far, 234 completed questionnaires were returned. On average, parents gave high ratings for their satisfaction with FCC. Most children of participating families were infants. Over 80% of participating parents were born in Germany and indicated that German is their mother tongue. The average duration of hospital stay was 5 days and the majority of admissions was planned. Only 5% of admissions were unexpected. In the latter case, the parents rated their satisfaction with family-centered care lower than in the first case. Low ratings were given most often for the item about the space around the child's bed (domain organization) and the item about the frequency of asking the parents for their experiences during their stay (domain parental participation). High ratings were given most often for the item on how much confidence parents had in the doctors (domain parental participation) and the item on how much sympathy parents received from the nurses (domain professional attitude).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore parent-satisfaction with FCC at an intermediary pediatric cardiology ward. While parents generally are very satisfied with FCC, there is room for improvement. Further studies on FCC in infants with congenital heart disease is an important step to optimize care for this population.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
21 February 2021