Concerns and needs of chronically ill hospitalised children and carers in a Saudi public hospital

Chronic paediatric diseases have been on the rise in Saudi Arabia. However, information on the experience of carers of hospitalised chronically ill children is lacking. This study set out to explore the needs and concerns for wellbeing of carers of chronically-ill children in a Saudi public hospital. The Research was conducted in two phases. The quantitative phase employed a cross-sectional survey design using the satisfaction questionnaire and the sf12-v2 health survey. A total of 78 and 71 participants completed the satisfaction survey and the wellbeing survey respectively. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with carers, healthcare providers, managerial and administrative staff as well as 6 months of observations and analysis of hospital documents. The surveys showed satisfaction level of carers ranged from satisfied to highly satisfied. Carers of chronically-ill children had double the risk for screening positive for depression compared to the norm (p < 0.0001). The qualitative phase highlighted some novel findings. First, the hospitalisation of the chronically ill children had an indirect effect on the education of their sisters. Second, this research identified the need for providing holistic family-centred care in Saudi Arabia tailored to the needs of the patient, carer and family. The findings also highlighted concerns relating to children s role in the management of their chronic condition, an area that requires further research. Examination of the findings through the family-centred lens highlighted priorities for Saudi Arabia including the importance of advocating for FCC, increasing the knowledge of all involved parties about the FCC model, building staff capacity to support FCC, creating supportive environments and enhancing the physical layout of the hospital. The findings of this study provides a foundation for Saudi Arabia, and other countries with similar cultural and social contexts to draw on in tailoring medical and mental services.

Grantor dc:publisher

UNSW, Sydney

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Yousef, Lamees

• Chronically-ill children
• Saudi Arabia
• Carers

Statement dc:rights

• open access
• CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
• free_to_read

Licence

• https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/

Language dc:language

EN

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/21112

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/61566