Family-Centered Care: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Introduction: The inappropriate development of nursing concepts is one of the most important obstacles to the progress of nursing knowledge. Family-centered care is one concept that is not well-defined, even though it is widely used in many areas of nursing and caregiving. This study aimed to analyze the concept of family-centered care using Rodgers’ evolutionary model. Methods: The 8 steps of Rodgers’ evolutionary model were followed. After concept selection, the Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, Science Direct, OVID, and SID databases were seached for the terms “family-centered care”, “parental involvement”, “family participation”, and “care by families”. Results: The results of this study, including the dimensions, antecedents, barriers, and consequences, are reported based on Rodgers’ model. Family-centered care is described as a holistic point of view, a philosophy that helps families in their caring role, the basic principles of child care, care given by parents, parents and professionals working together, and the chance for parents to protect their children under the supervision of professionals. In this study the antecedents of family-centered care were categorized as being political-conceptual, economical, and motivational. Some results of family-centered care are improved patient and family satisfaction, increased efficacy and improved quality of life, improved flow of information, and better interaction between the family and the professional team. Conclusions: Data from the present study showed that even though family-centered care is an appropriate framework for the provision of health services, more study is needed for better implementation.