Support for families and impact of wellbeing of the child – critical review

Abstract Aim: To explore final year student nurse perceptions of the level of support offered to family members when a child is in hospital. Background: The different effects of hospitalisation on family life are well documented with Brown and Warr (2007) highlighting the financial implications of hospitalisation. Alternatively, Koshti-Richman (2009) highlights that just 1 in 40 parents interviewed on felt that their wellbeing hadn’t suffered. Whether support services exist to address such needs is not documented. However, Hopia, Tomlinson, Paavilainen et al. (2005) express the view that parents have the right to look after themselves even when their child is in hospital Method: Grounded theory was the method chosen for this study. Qualitative interviews were carried out and the data coded so that concepts and categories could be formed. Semi-structured and unstructured interviews were carried out with a participant sample of 10. All participants were final year child branch nursing students. Findings: Hospitalisation disrupts family life in a variety of ways and therefore can be stressful for all members, particularly if coping factors are absent. A limited amount of support is currently provided for families but is not seen to be offered consistently across wards. Students commented that such services need to be improved but that barriers such as a lack of resources would prevent this. Therefore it was felt that ‘small things can make a difference’ such as talking to families and offering drinks. Moreover, students didn’t feel that they knew enough about the services available to support families. Conclusion: Hospitalisation can cause significant disruption to family life and therefore it is important that as health professionals we support them during this time. If achieved, this will have benefits on the whole family unit and minimise the disruption of hospitalisation on family life