Abstract
The aim of this study is to describe the experience of parents present in the resuscitation room during the attention given to their children in the pediatric emergency department, and to identify areas for improvement in this regard. This was a prospective study carried out in a third-level pediatric hospital. Children with life-threatening pathologies are treated in the resuscitation room of the pediatric emergency department. A survey was carried out among parents present in the resuscitation room during the period September 2016–August 2017. Excluded were the parents of children that died and those with a language barrier. The parents were interviewed in person or over the phone within 72 h of the care provided in the resuscitation room. Fifty surveys were completed (15 in person and 35 by phone). Forty mothers and 10 fathers responded, with an average age of 41. In the resuscitation room, 39 parents were accompanied by a health professional and 22 were given information about how the resuscitation room operated. The feelings most frequently reported by the parents were nervousness (39) and trust in the healthcare provided (20). All of the parents wished to be present. They felt that their presence was beneficial for the child (46), for themselves (50), and for the healthcare personnel (28).
Conclusion: The experience of the parents in our resuscitation room is a positive one. Nevertheless, some aspects need to be improved, such as accompaniment of the parents and the information that they are provided.
What is Known: • There is an international recommendation for parental presence during invasive procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. • Few studies have been carried out on how parents in the resuscitation room feel and how they encounter the experience. | |
What is New: • Even though most of the parents feel nervous in the resuscitation room, they expressed confidence in the medical team and they would wish to be present under similar circumstances. |
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Abbreviations
- PED:
-
Pediatric emergency department
- RR:
-
Resuscitation room
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Contributions
Cristina Parra: conception and design of the work, drafting the article, and final approval of the version to be published.
Maria Mele and Iris Alonso: data collection.
Victoria Trenchs: data analysis and interpretation.
Carles Luaces: critical revision of the article.
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The study was approved by the hospital research ethical committee
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The authors declare that that they have no conflict of interest.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Communicated by Mario Bianchetti
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Parra, C., Mele, M., Alonso, I. et al. Parent experience in the resuscitation room: how do they feel?. Eur J Pediatr 177, 1859–1862 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-018-3236-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-018-3236-5