title: Family-centred care and traumatic symptoms in parents of children admitted to PICU.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies show that traumatic stress symptoms are common in parents of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Family-centred care (FCC) has shown promising potential in reducing levels of traumatic stress in this group of parents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between parents' experience of nursing care and levels of traumatisation, to identify potential gender differences within this group, and to examine the possible relationships among the severity of a child's illness, the parents' fear of losing their child, and the parents' experience of support and development of acute stress disorder (ASD) symptoms.
  This study was approved by The Central Denmark Regional Committee on Health Research Ethics and by the Danish Data Agency (#1-16-02-87-11) and data were stored, protected and destroyed according to their regulations.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study involved 90 parents of children admitted to PICU at the University Hospital of Aarhus from August 2011 to August 2012. The parents filled out a self-report questionnaire package at the time of their child's discharge from the hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The experience of support from the nurses was high in both parents and was associated with ASD. About one-third of the parents had ASD or subclinical ASD. No significant gender differences existed when symptoms were measured dimensionally. When measured categorically, 17% of the mothers and 7% of the fathers had ASD. Mothers with very young children had higher levels of acute stress; fathers whose children had high illness severity scores exhibited more acute stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limitations have been identified in relation to the sample size of the study, the cross-sectional design and the short amount of time the families were in contact with PICU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The fathers and mothers were very pleased with the perceived care at the unit. The experienced care was positively associated with acute stress, but not with illness severity, or fear of losing the child. More research is needed to understand the dynamics of family-centred care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Birgitte Olesen
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Danish National Centre for Psychotraumatology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.
authors.forename: Sara Bek
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Eriksen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Pernille
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Skovby
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dall
authors.affiliation: University of Ulster, Derry, Department of Psychology, Nothern Ireland.
authors.forename: Ask
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elklit
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D064648:Critical Care Nursing / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000379:methods; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: acute stress disorder; family-centred care; parental experience of support; pediatric intensive care unit; severity of illness; the nurse parent support tool manual