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‘It's turned our world upside down’: Support needs of parents of critically injured children during Emergency Department admission – A qualitative inquiry
Wiseman, Taneal Curtis, Kate Young, Alexandra Van, Connie Foster, Kim
Wiseman, Taneal
Curtis, Kate
Young, Alexandra
Van, Connie
Foster, Kim
Abstract
Background Childhood injury is the largest cause of paediatric hospitalisation in Australia. Parents’ psychological wellbeing is important in enabling them to support their children's recovery, however little is known about parents’ psychosocial support needs during their child's admission to the emergency department. This study explores the experiences and support needs of parents of critically injured children in the emergency department. Methods An exploratory qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured face to face interviews were conducted with 40 parents of 30 critically injured children aged 0–12 years across 4 Australian hospitals. Transcribed data were managed using NVivo 10 and qualitative content analysis was performed. Results Four themes of parent experience emerged from analysis: being in shock and distress; feeling challenged by the ed environment; dealing with urgent priorities; and having immediate needs met. Conclusions There is a need for easy-to-understand information for parents in the ED following their child's injury. Recommendations include use of a checklist for emergency clinicians on what information to provide parents and provision of anticipatory guidance to parents on what to expect psychologically following injury. A dedicated family support coordinator is needed to support parents and children throughout the injury trajectory.
Keywords
emergency department, parents, paediatric injury, trauma, psychosocial
Date
2018
Type
Journal article
Journal
Australasian Emergency Care
Book
Volume
21
Issue
4
Page Range
137-142
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled