title: Development of professional practice based on a family systems nursing framework: nurses' and families' experiences.
abstract: The purpose of this evaluation project was to elicit nurses'and families' experiences about differences and changes for nurses and families and the family-nurse relationship when a family systems nursing approach was used to guide practice. Following nurses' involvement in an educational workshop, the evaluation examined changes in nurses'and families' experiences over an 8-week period of a child's hospitalization in a pediatric rehabilitation center. A total of 17 nurses and 13 parents participated in the project. Nurses and parents completed questionnaires and participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Nurses completed journals reflecting on their interactions with families. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings indicate that a family systems nursing approach had a positive impact on how nurses viewed their nursing practice and their work with families, thereby enhancing family-nurse relationships. Such findings have relevance to clinical nursing practice, professional development, and evaluation research design.
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Legrow
authors.forename: Beth Ellen
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Rossen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D022143:Family Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009864:Ontario; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013192:Staff Development