Understanding the Implementation of Family-Centered Care in COVID-19 Isolation Rooms Through Pediatric Nurses’ Experiences: Qualitative Descriptive Study

TL;DR

This study explores how pediatric nurses in Indonesia managed to provide family-centered care during the pandemic by focusing on communication and family involvement.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the practical challenges and strategies for implementing family-centered care in pediatric isolation rooms during the pandemic.

Findings

Communication was identified as crucial for successful family-centered care in isolation rooms.

Encouraging family involvement helped improve psychological well-being of children and families.

Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: communication, family involvement, and psychological well-being.

Abstract

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, the implementation of regulations in pediatric isolation rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic put enormous pressure on the practice of family-centered care (FCC). For nurses in isolation rooms for children with COVID-19, it was a challenge to implement FCC, which is an approach to child health care that supports the strengths of families and increases the involvement of parents to provide the best care outcomes.

This study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences in implementing FCC in isolation rooms caring for children with COVID-19.

A qualitative descriptive design was used based on semistructured interviews with 11 nurses who met the inclusion criteria and worked in 1 of 3 isolation rooms caring for children with COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Indonesia. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed using thematic analysis.

Three themes were generated, including improving psychological well-being, encouraging family involvement, and making arrangements for communication.

Communication was key to the implementation of FCC in pediatric isolation rooms, and it provided positive results, so it should continue to be implemented even after the pandemic has passed.