Study finds communication between parents and children’s nurses is vital, but negotiating care needs roles to be defined clearly

Aim To increase understanding of parents’ perspectives on the negotiation of care.

Method A translated and validated questionnaire was completed by 444 parents of children admitted over a 16-month period to one hospital in Portugal.

Results The overwhelming majority of participating parents believed that parents should always stay with their child in hospital and provide basic care, including being woken in the night to do so. However, over one third thought that their participation might disrupt the nurses’ routines and a similar percentage felt uncomfortable telling nurses if they did not want to participate in care. Parents with higher levels of education and those aged over 30 were more likely to report good communication with the nursing team.

Conclusions Communication between parents and nurses is essential to partnership in care. Effective negotiation requires a clear definition of nurses’ and parents’ roles, as well as agreement on the level of participation in care by parents.