Hospital care of children in four countries.
BACKGROUND
While perceptions of parents and staff about care of hospitalized children have been explored in developed countries, little research has examined these in developing countries. Assumptions about family-centred care are often based on Western values, with little evidence of how cultural constructs affect care delivery in developing nations.


OBJECTIVE
This paper reports a study to provide evidence from which culturally-appropriate hospital care for children can be delivered.


METHODS
Using a rigorously devised and trialed questionnaire, attitudes of staff and parents about the way children are cared for in children's hospitals in four countries were examined and subjected to a four way analysis: parents and staff within and between developed and developing countries.


RESULTS
There were no questions where all parents and staff in both developed and developing country groups were in complete agreement. However, there was some indication that, while culture plays a major role in paediatric care delivery, basic concepts of family-centred care are similar.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings are limited by the sampling strategy. Nevertheless, while differences were found between parents' and staff's expectations of the delivery of care to children in hospitals, similarities existed and the influence of culture cannot be ignored. Education programmes for staff and parents should reflect these influences to ensure the optimum delivery of family-centred care, regardless of where the hospital is situated.
Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. linda.shields@ul.ie
Linda
L
Shields
Jim
J
Nixon
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D022143:Family Nursing / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires