Impact of the care partnership on hospitalized children and their families

Abstract

Background - For children, hospital admission often means to be removed from their home environment, their daily activities, and their friends. The care partnership is considered to be essential in the child’s hospitalization process, resulting in benefits not only for children and their families but also for healthcare professionals.

Objective - To identify the impact of the nursing care partnership on hospitalized children and their families.

Methods - A systematic literature review was conducted. After application of the inclusion/exclusion criteria, a search performed in the online databases EBSCOhost, b-on, and SciELO revealed 5 primary studies published between 2005 and 2014 that addressed the research question.

Results- The results showed that both children and their families benefit from the care partnership, to the extent that the opportunity to be involved in care delivery reduces their anxiety levels, increases their feeling of independence, promotes a good communication with the nursing team, brings about feelings of peace and reassurance, and facilitates the adaptation to the child’s new health condition.

Conclusions- The nursing team is responsible for including family members in the care process, encouraging their presence and active participation and allowing them to provide emotional support and safety to the hospitalized child. Their presence throughout the hospitalization period is essential to minimize its impact on children and their families.