Perceptions of parents on satisfaction with care in the pediatric intensive care unit: the EMPATHIC study.
OBJECTIVE
To identify parental perceptions on pediatric intensive care-related satisfaction items within the framework of developing a Dutch pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) satisfaction instrument.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study in tertiary PICUs at seven university medical centers in The Netherlands.


METHODS
Parents of 1,042 children discharged from a PICU.


RESULTS
A 78-item questionnaire was sent to 1,042 parents and completed by 559 (54%). Seventeen satisfaction items were rated with mean scores <8.0 (1, completely unimportant, to 10, very important) with standard deviations > or =1.65, and thus considered of limited value. The empirical structure of the items was in agreement with the theoretically formulated domains: Information, Care and Cure, Organization, Parental Participation, and Professional Attitude. The Cronbach's alpha of the domains ranged between 0.87 and 0.94.


CONCLUSIONS
Parental perceptions on satisfaction with care measures were identified and prioritized. Reliabilities of the items and domains were of high level.
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Intensive Care, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, PO Box 2060, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands. j.latour@erasmusmc.nl
Jos M
JM
Latour
Johannes B
JB
van Goudoever
Hugo J
HJ
Duivenvoorden
Nicolette A M
NA
van Dam
Eugenie
E
Dullaart
Marcel J I J
MJ
Albers
Carin W M
CW
Verlaat
Elise M
EM
van Vught
Marc
M
van Heerde
Jan A
JA
Hazelzet
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D022143:Family Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires