The Effect of Family-Centered Empowerment Training on The Perception of Family-Centered Care by Parents of Hospitalized Children

Background: Hospitalization of children is considered a stressful event for parents, and its unfortunate consequences include anxiety, stress and increased burden of care in parents. Considering the importance of family-centered training in empowering parents of hospitalized children, this study was conducted with the aim examining the effect of family-centered empowerment training on the understanding of family-centered care by parents of hospitalized children. Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on 30 parents whose children had been hospitalized in Tehran Medical Center. The participants were selected by non-random sampling method, before being divided into two intervention and control groups. The data collection tool was the questionnaire of family-centered care perception. Samples in the intervention group received 5 training sessions (30-45 minutes) of family-centered care. Data in both groups was collected and entered into SPSS-21 statistical software to be analyzed by descriptive statistics (table, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test, independent t-test, Fisher’s exact test and chi-square test) at the significance level of 0.05. Results: The paired t-test in the control group before and after the intervention did not show any significant difference between the mean scores of family-centered care perception and its dimensions (P=0.72). However, it showed a significant difference between the mean scores of these variables in the intervention group before and after the intervention (P 0.01). Also, the independent t-test showed a significant difference between the two groups in this regard after the intervention. Discussion: The results of this study showed that family-centered empowerment training increases the understanding of family-centered care by parents of hospitalized children. Therefore, considering the importance, low cost and effectiveness of family-centered training, this care model can be used to improve the quality of nursing care and increase the participation of parents in the care of their hospitalized children.