ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to design services for improving the quality of care of hospitalized children with acute diseases.METHODS: The service design process had four phases: discovery, definition, development, and delivery. The participants were 23 mothers of hospitalized children with an acute disease, and seven nurses and three doctors working at a pediatric hospital. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and observations. The data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics.RESULTS: The participants reported needs for explanations about the treatment, skillful nursing, and environmental improvements. The concept of the services was familiarity and enjoyment, aimed at solving the problems of unfamiliarity and boredom. A six-guideline was presented for improving the quality of care of hospitalized children with acute diseases: improvement of awareness, development of educational materials, improvement of skills, environmental improvements, play activities, and evaluations of user satisfaction.CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that nursing services should deliver familiarity and enjoyment to hospitalized children and their families. The findings of this study emphasize that the service design methodology can be used to improve the quality of care of hospitalized children with acute diseases.