OBJECTIVE Multidisciplinary teams from 11 medical center neonatal intensive care units collaborated in a quality improvement project with a focus on family-centered care. METHODS Through a process of self-analysis, literature review, benchmarking site visits, and expert consultation, 10 potentially better practice (PBP) areas were defined. Improvement activities in 4 of the 10 areas are given...

www.ccnonline.org This poem is based on a true experience that I had with an elderly woman when I was working as a nurse manager/clinical nurse specialist. The woman experienced unnecessary distress after her husband’s death because she lacked information about the cause of death and had misinterpreted events. She carried this burden for a whole year before getting clarification. The vignette i...

The importance of being ‘family-centered’ when providing services to children with a disability and their families has gained currency in the research and practice literature. A growing body of evidence has validated many of the theoretical links between the help-giving practices of staff and desirable outcomes for families with a child with a disability. However, it is clear from the research ...

OBJECTIVE The objective was to provide a synthesis of the results of the research and discourse lines on main dimensions of patient-centered care in the context of chronic disease management in family medicine, building on Stewart et al.'s model. METHODS We developed search strategies for the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases, from 1980 to April 2009. All articles addressing patient-cen...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Disorders of sex development (DSD) are congenital conditions in which chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex development is atypical. Optimal management is patient- and family-centered and delivered by interdisciplinary teams. The present pilot study elicits concerns held by important stakeholders on issues affecting young patients with DSD and their families. METHODS Content f...