Family Presence during Invasive Procedures in Pediatric Emergency Department: Comparison of General Attitude of Medical Staffs and Guardians

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to understand and compare the general attitude of medical staff and guardians toward family presence (FP) in the pediatric emergency department (PED). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in PEDs in Korea. Doctors and nurses who worked in PEDs and guardians who brought children(< or =15 years old) to the PED were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. A 5-point Likert scale was used as the scoring method. The influence of invasiveness of procedures and socio-demographic factors associated with favorable attitude toward FP were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 206 medical staff and 194 guardians were enrolled. The proportion of guardians with a favorable attitude toward FP was higher than that of the medical staff (99.5% vs. 51.4%). Healthcare providers believed that FP could be "helpful to calm down children and/or guardian (s)", and expressed concern that FP could cause "breakage of rapport when procedure fails". Most guardians believed that FP could be "helpful to support the child emotionally". The invasiveness of procedures was negatively related to the proportion of favorable medical staff toward FP, but did not influence that of the guardians. Previous experience with FP (odds ratio=2.04, 95% confidence interval 1.19-4.22) and occupation (OR=0.17, 95% CI 0.07-0.38) of the medical staff showed a negative association with a favorable attitude toward FP. CONCLUSION: We found discrepancies in general attitude toward FP between guardians and medical staff. Previous experience with FP and occupation of medical staff showed an association with a favorable attitude toward FP.