Perceived needs of parents of critically ill children.

PURPOSE To identify the needs of parents of critically ill hospitalized children as perceived by the parents and critical care nurses, and to identify any differences between the two groups. DESIGN Descriptive, comparative. SETTING Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in a Midwestern hospital. PARTICIPANTS A nonprobability convenience sample of parents or primary caregivers of critically ill children (n = 21) and pediatric critical care nurses (n = 17). OUTCOME MEASURES Critical Care Family Needs Inventory modified for pediatrics and demographic questionnaires. RESULTS Information, assurance, and proximity to the critically ill child were identified as priority needs of the PCGs in this study. Significant differences on specific needs were identified between PCG/nurse matched pairs; however, no significant differences were found in total scores between the two groups by a two-tailed paired t test. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the need to investigate interventions to better address parental needs of critically ill children. By consistent identification, prioritization, and incorporation of parental needs into the plan of care, nurses can assist the parents in the recognition and fulfillment of needs that have less perceived importance. Research-based interventions will facilitate improved parental adaptation to their child's critical hospitalization.