Patient- and family-centered care for hospitalized children and their parents with a migration background: A qualitative study

PURPOSE: To explore experiences and needs of parents with a migration background regarding patient- and family-centered care for their hospitalized child in a Dutch university children's hospital.

DESIGN AND METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used with semi-structured face-to-face interviews among parents with a migration background who are proficient in the Dutch language. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS: Eleven mothers and four fathers were interviewed. Their experiences and needs were described in four key themes: (1) receiving child-focused care from hospital staff; (2) acquiring support and personal attention to endure hospitalization; (3) engaging in parental participation; and (4) seeking comfort and privacy in the hospital. Parents valued the specialized, child-focused care, and needed additional support and understandable information for parental participation. They need the opportunity to stay close to their child and practice their religion with privacy.

CONCLUSIONS: Parents expressed universal needs concerning hospital care for their child, such as receiving high-quality, personalized, child-focused care with attention to their own well-being. Parents had specific needs focused on support in participating in their child's care, receiving understandable language and information, and appropriate private facilities to accommodate religious practices and ensure privacy during admission.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Parents need health care professionals to support them in actively participating in their child's care by using understandable language and facilitating both privacy and religious practices. Further research should include patients and families with language barriers to ensure representation of the patient population.