Parent assessment of family-centered care practices in a children's hospital

A study was undertaken at British Columbia's Children's Hospital to assess parents' views on the adequacy and extent of family-centered care practices . The study's 2 main objectives were to determine the feasibility of carryi ng out a detailed survey of parental attitudes toward family-centered care following a child's acute admission to hospital and to identify areas of pr actice where improvement was needed. The tool used was a survey comprising 125 structured and open-ended questions, conducted by telephone several wee ks after discharge. Although limitations to the study were recognized, the survey proved to be a catalyst for multidisciplinary action to improve aspe cts of family-centered care.