Parents�� willingness and actual participation
in the care of their child��s Activity of Daily Living (ADL) during
hospitalization
Lim E., Dong Y.N., Liam L.W., Manilla
L., Yan Y.
KK
Women��s and Children��s Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
Hospital admission for young children is a very
traumatic experience and it is at such time, that children need their
parents most (Evans, 1992). Benefits of parental involvement in a child��s
care have been recognized (Jones, 1994). A local study is
necessary, as most researches in literature reviews were done within a
western context.
Objective: To examine and
identify the factors contributing or inhibiting parents�� willingness and
actual participation in the care of their child��s ADL during
hospitalization.
Method: A descriptive
study was conducted with the aid of questionnaires in official languages.
All parents with children aged 1 month �C 5 years admitted to an acute
Children��s Hospital for a 2-week period, were asked to complete a
questionnaire 12 hours after admission.
Results: Data analyzed
demonstrated that 89% of parents were willing to participate in their
child��s ADL during hospitalization with an exception on a few activities
such as bed sponging. Factors that encouraged or inhibited their
participation included promoting child��s comfort and being too tired
respectively.
Conclusion:
The results showed that parents are willing and were
actually participating in their child��s ADL during hospitalization, which
is consistent with other researches done in the western context.