Recovery of injured children: Parent perspectives on family needs

Objective: To study the broader impact of emotional and financial burdens of injury in children on their families, along with solutions to these problems. Design: Focus groups were conducted to reveal the needs of parents and children after injury. Audiotaped semistructured interviews were conducted by a team of qualitative researchers. Setting: Tertiary care children's hospital. Participants: Mothers of children who had sustained traumatic injury. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Summary of reported themes of experience and suggested interventions. Data were analyzed by using content analysis software. Results: Overall satisfaction with care was high. Parents expressed concerns with communication, access to care, and the transition both within the phases of medical care and from medical care into the community. Consistent financial and social stressors were voiced, along with the need for peer support during all phases of care. Conclusions: Parents provided valuable insight into their needs after their child's injury. Attention to constructive communication, clarification of the system of care, continued family-centered care, and development of peer support programs may meet the needs of caregivers and therefore facilitate improvement in pediatric injury recovery.