Issues of power, control and choice in children's hospice respite care services: a qualitative study.
The changes within children's palliative care services in the UK over the last decade highlight the importance of respite provision. This article reports on an evaluation of a children's hospice in northern England that was undertaken to elicit the views of 24 service users on their experiences of respite care in the hospice: parents, children and young people, siblings, guardians and family carers. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, transcribed and submitted to framework analysis. The findings demonstrate the tensions that parents in need of respite care feel as a result of the power unconsciously exercised by staff. Redistribution of resources and reordering of priorities are recommended to prevent the inadvertent impact upon families.
School of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. a.grinyer@lancaster.ac.uk
Anne
A
Grinyer
Sheila
S
Payne
Zephyrine
Z
Barbarachild
D002648:Child; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004739:England; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006738:Hospices; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012144:Respite Care