Perceptions of parents on satisfaction with care in the pediatric intensive care unit: the EMPATHIC study

• Published in: Intensive care medicine Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 1082 - 1089
• Main Authors: Latour, Jos M., van Goudoever, Johannes B., Duivenvoorden, Hugo J., van Dam, Nicolette A. M., Dullaart, Eugenie, Albers, Marcel J. I. J., Verlaat, Carin W. M., van Vught, Elise M., van Heerde, Marc, Hazelzet, Jan A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.06.2009; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthesiology; Biological and medical sciences; Business metrics; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Clinical death. Palliative care. Organ gift and preservation; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Consumer Behavior; Critical Care Medicine; Emergency Medicine; Empowerment; Ethnicity; Families & family life; Family Nursing; Female; Humans; Infant; Intensive; Intensive care; Intensive care medicine; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; Length of stay; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Netherlands; Pain Medicine; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Patient satisfaction; Pediatric Original; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Prospective Studies; Quality of Health Care; Questionnaires; Research methodology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Netherlands; Family satisfaction; Pediatric intensive care unit; Parents; Experiences; Needs; Family-centered care; Quality of healthcare; Human; Pediatrics; Intensive care; Parent; Intensive care unit; Perception; Child; Resuscitation
• ISSN: 0342-4642; 1432-1238
• DOI: 10.1007/s00134-009-1491-7

Purpose To identify parental perceptions on pediatric intensive care-related satisfaction items within the framework of developing a Dutch pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) satisfaction instrument. Methods Prospective cohort study in tertiary PICUs at seven university medical centers in The Netherlands. Participants Parents of 1,042 children discharged from a PICU. Results A 78-item questionnaire was sent to 1,042 parents and completed by 559 (54%). Seventeen satisfaction items were rated with mean scores <8.0 (1, completely unimportant, to 10, very important) with standard deviations ≥1.65, and thus considered of limited value. The empirical structure of the items was in agreement with the theoretically formulated domains: Information, Care and Cure, Organization, Parental Participation, and Professional Attitude. The Cronbach’s α of the domains ranged between 0.87 and 0.94. Conclusions Parental perceptions on satisfaction with care measures were identified and prioritized. Reliabilities of the items and domains were of high level.