Unifying Concepts in Parents' Experiences with Health Care Providers

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Abstract
A historical overview of the research related to parent and nurse interaction in the context of an acutely ill hospitalized child provides the pediatric nurse with information about parent needs, stressors, and activities that can guide both practice and future research. Most of the research is descriptive, with little integration across studies. Because it focuses on the inpatient setting, this research has decreasing usefulness; care of chronically ill children now occurs more often in outpatient or home settings. A new research base addresses health care relationships between professionals and parents of these children. Sixteen studies were identified that focused on the formation of relationships between parents of chronically ill children and health care providers. Although these studies addressed a variety of research questions and were based on different conceptual frameworks, the common themes of trust, information gathering, participation in care, and decision making emerged.

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