Needs of parents of the child hospitalised with Acquired Brain Damage

This paper describes the findings of a descriptive study into needs of pare nts of children with Acquired Brain Damage during hospitalisation. Thirty f our parents of 28 children treated at a tertiary referral pediatric hospita l were interviewed. Parents described their experiences during their child' s hospitalisation and identified needs which, when met, enabled them to car e for their children and cope with the sudden illness and disabilities. Thr ee themes were identified: services that optimised the child's recovery, se rvices which supported parents cope with child's illness and services assis ting in maintenance of family functioning and stability. An emerging model of parental needs and nursing interventions to meet these are identified. ( C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.