Parents’ participation in taking care of hospitalized children: A concept analysis with hybrid model

BACKGROUND: Although today parents’ participation in taking care of hospitalized children is considered as an indispensable principle, it is still among the concepts with no consensus about. The main objective of this study is to define parents’ participation in taking care of hospitalized children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The concept of “parents’ participation in taking care of hospitalized children” was analyzed using a hybrid model in three phases: Literature review (theoretical phase), fieldwork, and combination of literature review and fieldwork (analytical phase). RESULTS: Based on the results of theoretical (literature review), fieldwork, and analytical phases, the best definitions for the concept of “parents’ participation in taking care of hospitalized children” are mutual relationship and gaining parents’ trust toward nurses, giving the required information and education to the parents about care and treatment process, assigning the needed home care to the parents, involving the parents in caregiving process, and finally, defining their participation in decision making (clarifying the parents’ role) in order to improve the quality of care given to the children. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study showed that the dimensions of parents’ participation can be applied in pediatric wards, and nurses can improve the quality of care through application of the obtained findings.