title: Why do parents stay overnight with children in hospitals? A survey of parents at Royal Children's Hospital.
abstract: This article is concerned with factors affecting parents' decisions to stay overnight on the wards with their children in hospital. A literature review is provided of past and present policies for parental access. The results are reported of a survey of 143 parents who stayed overnight with their children at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. The survey revealed that the cost and availability of off-ward accommodation did not influence the parents' decisions, the majority of children had pre-planned stays and none were in immediate danger. The paper concludes with suggestions concerning parent accommodation in children's hospitals.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009551:Night Care; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria; D014789:Visitors to Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*