Family centered care in pediatric cardiac surgery departments: Nurses’ perceptions

Background: Family-centered care (FCC) in pediatric healthcare settings holds significant implications for hospitalized children and their family, as well as for healthcare providers, particularly nurses. This study aims to explore the perceptions of Pediatric Nurses (PN) working in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery departments regarding FCC. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and July 2022 at two pediatric hospitals and a Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece. The Family Centered Care Questionnaire–Revised (FCCQ-R) was utilised to assess nurses' perceptions of FCC. This questionnaire consists of 45 items divided in 9 subcategories accessing the current nursing practice and the perceived necessity of FCC. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-28, with a significance level set at α=0.05. Results: 62 nurses were recruited. Most nurses were female (93.5%), with 41.9% aged between 31 and 40 years. Mean scores for the necessity scale and current scale were 25.93 (±5.26) and 17.85 (±4.25), respectively, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.942 and 0.937, respectively. Predictors of the current scale score included age group 51–60 years (β=4.62, p=0.010) and necessity scale score (β=0.26, p=0.016), whilst predictors of the necessity scale score included years of experience (β=-7.31, p<0.001) and daily scale score (β=0.35, p=0.019). Conclusions: Nurses acknowledge the importance of FCC dimensions but may encounter challenges in consistently applying them in their work. Further strategies may be required to bridge this gap and enhance the integration of FCC principles into pediatric nursing practice.