Parents' Perspectives of Child‐Centred Care: A Qualitative Study With Parents After Paediatric Intensive Care Units Discharge

ABSTRACT Background Paediatric intensive care units (PICU) need to take measures to include the child and the parents in their care regarding the child's cognitive ability. Partnerships must be based on respect and understanding, starting from the child's perspective and collaborating with the child and parents towards a common care plan. Aim This study aimed to explore parents' experience of partnership with the child and the healthcare team in a paediatric intensive care unit to develop child‐centred care further. Study Design A qualitative explorative design was adopted as the study aimed to explore parents' own experiences. Ten mothers and ten fathers participated. Data was collected via narrative interviews. Data was analysed using inductive content analysis. Findings The Findings of this study uncovered one main category: Safety as a key component of partnership, three categories: Information transfer, Collaboration in the team, Challenges for partnerships. The main Finding of this study uncovers how the context and the child‐centred approach are connected and intertwined. Safety is the foundation of partnership and trust; without it, true collaboration thus, partnership or child‐centred care cannot exist. The data analysis resulted in eight subcategories, three categories and one main category. Conclusions It is when the context enables parents to be safe and trust their relations to the care team that they dare to have their child as the focus of the family context, dare to be involved in their child's care and develop a reciprocal relationship between carers, children and parents. Relevance to Clinical Practise The findings highlight the need to promote collaborative partnerships by inviting parents to engage in care activities, providing clear explanations of procedures, encouraging questions, and validating parental observations regarding the child.