Registered Nurses’ Experiences Pertaining to Family Involvement in the Care of Hospitalised Children at a Tertiary Government Hospital in Malawi

Authors

  • Patrick Gladson McLeywick Chipalamnjira Phiri Malawi Ministry of Health Ntcheu District Hosipital P/Bag 5 Ntcheu Malawi
  • Ursula Kafulafula University of Malawi: Kamuzu College of Nursing
  • Genesis Chorwe-Sungani University of Malawi: Kamuzu College of Nursing

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/910

Keywords:

Family-centred care, family involvement, hospitalised children, nurses’ experiences, registered nurses, policy

Abstract

Families need to be involved in the care of hospitalised children because they are custodians of valuable information for the provision of individualised care. Tertiary hospitals need to involve families because they provide specialised care, which may be a source of stress for children. At one of the tertiary government hospitals in Malawi, the average nurse-patient ratio in the paediatric unit is 1:84. Nurses are expected to involve families in care. Evidence shows that nurses’ experiences with family involvement shape the way care is delivered. However, little is known about nurses’ experiences of family involvement in the care of hospitalised children at this tertiary hospital. The objective of the study was to describe registered nurses’ experiences when involving families in the care of hospitalised children. A descriptive qualitative design using a semi-structured interview guide was used. Fourteen full-time registered nurses were recruited and data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that registered nurses were knowledgeable about family involvement but their experiences were mixed. Themes that emerged from the data were registered nurses’ knowledge of family involvement, registered nurses’ experiences of family involvement and registered nurses’ impression of family involvement. The findings reveal that family involvement in the care of hospitalised children by nurses is desirable, but should be regulated. However, the findings reveal that although registered nurses involved family members, implementation of family involvement was inconsistent and problematic. This status quo may continue unless authorities develop a policy to regulate family involvement in child care.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Patrick Gladson McLeywick Chipalamnjira Phiri, Malawi Ministry of Health Ntcheu District Hosipital P/Bag 5 Ntcheu Malawi

District Nursing Officer

Department of Nursing and Midwifery Services

 

References

Bernard, F.I. 2009. "Telling Their Story: Experiences and Reflections of Nurses working with Families of Hospitalised Children." Practice Web Journals, 12: 234-241.

Betancourt, S., J.E. Abrams, R. McBain, and C.S. Fawzi. 2010. "Review: Family Centred Approaches to the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV." Journal of the International AIDS Society 13 (Suppl. 2): 288-296.

https://doi.org/10.1186/1758-2652-13-S2-S2

Burns, N. and S. Grove. 2009. The Practice of Nursing Research: Appraisal, Synthesis and Generating Evidence, 6th ed. St Louis: Saunders-Elsevier.

Coyne, I., and S. Cowley. 2007. "Challenging the Philosophy of Partnership with Parents: A Grounded Theory Study." International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44: 893-904.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2006.03.002

Coyne, I., C. O'Neill, M. Murphy, T. Costello, and R. O'Shea. 2011. "What does Family Centred Care mean to Nurses and how do they think it could be enhanced in Practice." Journal of Advanced Nursing 67 (12): 2561-2573.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05768.x

Coyne, I. 2006. "Disruption of Parent Participation: Nurses' Strategies to manage Parents on Children's Wards." Journal of Clinical Nursing 17, 3150-3158. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01928.x.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01928.x

Espe-Sherwindt, M. 2008. "Family-centred Practice: Collaboration, Competency and Evidence." Support Learning 23 (3): 137-144.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9604.2008.00384.x

Espezel, H., and C. Canam. 2003. "Parent-nurse Interactions: Care of Hospitalised Children." Journal of Advanced Nursing 44 (1): 34-41.

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02765.x

Ford, K., and S. de Turner. 2001. "Stories Seldom Told: Paediatric Nurses' Experiences of Caring for Hospitalized Children with Special Needs and Their Families." Journal of Advanced Nursing 33 (3): 288-295.

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01678.x

Gondwe, W.T., B.R. Bhengu, and K. Bultemeier. 2011. "Challenges encountered by Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Meeting Patients and Family Needs in Malawi." Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery 13 (2): 92-102.

Graneheim, U.H., and B. Lundman. 2004. "Qualitative Content Analysis in Nursing Research: Concepts, Procedures and Measures to achieve Trustworthiness." Nurse Education Today 24: 105-112.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001

Harrison, T. 2011. "Family Centered Pediatric Nursing Care: State of the Science." Journal of Paediatric Nursing 25 (5): 335-343. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2009.01.006.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2009.01.006

Lincoln, Y.S., and E.G. Guba. 2005. "Paradigms and Perspectives in Contention." In Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, 183-190, California: Sage.

Mackay. L. 2009. "Exploring Family Centred Care among Pediatric Oncology Nurses.". Master's dissertation, University of Lethbridge.

Manji, B., and F. Reckon. 2011. How much do they know? Patients' perspectives on health care communication and information giving for the sick in Malawi. (Unpublished).

McHugh, D.M., and T.L. Lake. 2010. "Understanding Clinical Expertise: Nurse Education, Experience, and the Hospital Context." Research in Nursing and Health 33 (4), 276-287. doi:10.1002/nur.20388.

https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20388

Paliadelis, P., M. Cruickshank, D. Wainohu, R. Winskill, and S. Stevens. 2005. "Implementing Family-centred Care: An Exploration of the Beliefs and Practices of Paediatric Nurses." Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 23 (1):31-37.

Shields L., J. Pratt, and J. Hunter. 2006. "Family Centred Care: A Review of Qualitative Studies." Journal of Clinical Nursing 15: 1317-1323.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01433.x

Soderback, M., and K. Christensson. 2008. "Care of Hospitalized Children in Mozambique: Nurses' Beliefs and Practice regarding Family Involvement." Journal of Child Health Care 11 (1): 1778-1788.

Soderstrom, I., E. Benzein, and B. Saveman. 2003. "Nurses' Experiences of Interactions with Family Members in the Intensive Care Units." Journal of Caring Sciences 7: 185-192.

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-6712.2003.00222.x

Stayt, L.C. 2007. "Nurses' Experiences of Caring for Families with Relatives in the Intensive Care Units." Journal of Advanced Nursing 57 (6): 623-30.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.04143.x

Uhl, T., K. Fisher, S.L. Docherty, and D.H. Brandon. 2013. "Insights into Patient and Family Centered Care through the Hospital Experiences of Parents." Journal of Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing 42: 121-131. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12001.

https://doi.org/10.1111/1552-6909.12001

Zaman, S. 2004. "Poverty and Violence, Frustration and Inventiveness: Hospital Ward Life in Bangladesh." Social Science and Medicine 59 (10): 2025-36.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.03.007

Downloads

Published

2017-05-31

How to Cite

Phiri, Patrick Gladson McLeywick Chipalamnjira, Ursula Kafulafula, and Genesis Chorwe-Sungani. 2017. “Registered Nurses’ Experiences Pertaining to Family Involvement in the Care of Hospitalised Children at a Tertiary Government Hospital in Malawi”. Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery 19 (1):131-43. https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/910.

Issue

Section

Articles
Received 2016-02-05
Accepted 2017-03-21
Published 2017-05-31