Family-centred care (FCC) focuses on working together with families and healthcare providers. It means seeing the family as part of the care, not just the child. Parents are invited to help make care decisions, get information, and stay involved during the child’s treatment. Different terms like partnership-in-care, negotiated care, and parental participation all show ways families can be involved.
Nurses and other healthcare workers play important roles in making these partnerships work. They communicate, support, and connect the family with the medical team. They help build respectful relationships and make sure parents’ opinions are considered. But, because FCC does not have one clear definition, hospitals and clinics in the United States do not always practice it the same way.
Many studies show that there are big gaps in research about FCC. One major problem is that there is little hard evidence linking FCC to better health results for children. FCC might reduce parents’ anxiety and improve their experience during hospital stays, but clear proof that FCC improves children’s health is limited. This makes it hard for hospital leaders to know if FCC really works and if it is worth investing in.
Another issue is that research often ignores how culture and society affect FCC. The U.S. has many families from different backgrounds, but studies do not often look at how these differences change family involvement or health decisions. Without this, hospitals might use one FCC model that doesn’t fit all families well.
Most research focuses on parents, but other family members like siblings or grandparents can also play important roles. True family-centred care should include all people involved in the child’s care.
There is also a research gap about children’s rights to join healthcare teams. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says children should have a say in decisions about their health. Yet, many studies and practices in the U.S. do not fully reflect this idea.
Research shows that healthcare teams often do not clearly show who is on the team or how they work with children and families. Most studies come from the UK, so U.S.-specific research is needed. Also, there is little mention of theories or ideas that explain how to include children as team members.
Donna Koller’s review points out that team work in pediatric care lacks rights-based language and detailed study of team roles. This makes it harder for hospital leaders and IT managers to create systems that bring children and families together during care.
Hospital administrators and medical practice leaders face challenges due to these research gaps. Without strong evidence, it is hard to decide how to spend limited resources on FCC. They must focus on services and technology that clearly help patients.
Also, ignoring culture and children’s participation means care models may not fit all families. Hospitals serving diverse communities must create flexible FCC practices that respect different family types, languages, and cultures. Staff need tools and training based on good evidence to make this happen.
IT managers have their own challenges. Technology must support sharing information and communication among patients, families, and care teams. Without clear ideas on how to do this, technology may fail to meet everyone’s needs.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation could help fix some problems in FCC, especially in children’s healthcare. For example, companies like Simbo AI offer phone systems that handle calls and answer questions automatically. This helps families connect with healthcare staff faster.
Automating tasks like appointment scheduling and call answering lowers the work for front desk staff. This lets them focus on tricky or personal conversations with families.
AI can also send parents reminders about medicines, procedures, or discharge information. These messages keep families informed, even outside normal hours.
Such systems can use different languages and adapt to cultural needs. This helps families from many backgrounds stay involved, addressing a current research gap.
Automation can also improve teamwork by keeping nurses, doctors, social workers, and families updated. AI helps create the kind of shared care FCC expects.
For hospital managers, AI tools can track questions and concerns from families. This data helps improve services and supports decisions based on real information.
The lack of clear theories or frameworks for FCC and child participation makes it hard for teams to follow best practices. Clear frameworks would explain roles and duties for all team members, including parents and children.
One recent approach is Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis. It views concepts like FCC as changing over time. Hospitals can use this to keep improving FCC by looking at new evidence and cultural changes.
Having clear theory-based guidelines helps train staff and improve care quality. For IT managers, frameworks guide the building of communication and documentation tools that support FCC.
Support Research Efforts: Join or fund studies that look at how FCC affects children’s health, parent stress, and staff happiness in the U.S. Include cultural diversity to better reflect real patient groups.
Evaluate Pediatric Team Composition and Collaboration: Do surveys or reviews to see how teams currently work with children and families. Use results to improve team work and routines.
Implement AI and Automation Thoughtfully: Use automation tools like Simbo AI to improve family communication, scheduling, and information sharing, while keeping personal care intact.
Adopt and Adapt Theoretical Frameworks: Use established concept studies and care theories in policies and guidelines. Train staff to understand and follow these frameworks for consistent care.
Enhance Child Participation: Create rules that make sure children’s rights in healthcare are respected. Help children have a voice in their care, following international standards like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In conclusion, family-centred care is an important idea in pediatric healthcare, but many research and theory gaps remain. Working on these areas, using AI tools, and clear care models can help hospital leaders and IT managers improve care for children and their families. Technology that aligns with FCC ideas offers a practical way to improve communication, reduce parent stress, and support teamwork in pediatric hospitals and clinics.
Family-centred care involves partnership-in-care, where parents participate actively in their child’s treatment, making them care recipients alongside the child. It emphasizes negotiation in care and includes all family members in decision-making.
Key attributes include parental participation in care, development of respectful partnerships, information sharing, and recognizing all family members as care recipients.
While family-centred care is endorsed for enhancing well-being, empirical evidence linking it to improved health outcomes for children remains limited.
The literature notes a lack of attention to cultural and societal changes that affect the delivery and receipt of care, highlighting a need for research reflecting diverse cultures.
Family-centred care is associated with reduced anxiety for parents, enhancing their overall experience during their child’s hospitalization.
Further research is needed to examine the effects of family-centred care on children, parents, healthcare professionals, and organizations, particularly reflecting cultural diversity and its impact on care delivery.
Rodgers’ evolutionary approach to concept analysis was the guiding framework for analyzing the concept of family-centred care.
The systematic literature search for the concept analysis yielded 30 theoretical papers.
Nurses are integral in fostering partnerships with families, facilitating communication, and ensuring that parents are involved in their child’s care, though barriers to implementing family-centred care persist.
Surrogate terms identified include partnership-in-care, negotiated care, and parental participation, contributing to a broader understanding of family-centred care practices.
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