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Exploring the parental experience of retrieval of a critically ill child
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Exploring the parental experience of retrieval of a critically ill child

Samantha Keogh and Karen Watson
Australian Critical Care, Vol.27(1), p.63
38th Australian and New Zealand Scientific Meeting on Intensive Care and the 19th Annual Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Conference, 2013 (Hobart, Australia, 17-Oct-2013–19-Oct-2013)
2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2013.10.063
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2013.10.063View
Published Version

Abstract

Nursing critically ill critical care child illness
Introduction: When a child is retrieved from a regional, rural or remote centre to a metropolitan centre for specialised care, parents are removed from established family, friend and community support systems. Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore the experience of parents whose child has undergone a medical retrieval to a metropolitan paediatric facility. Method: This qualitative study used a critical hermeneutic approach based on the 1960s philosophical hermeneutics of Gadamer. Data collection and analysis was facilitated through semi structured interviews with parents. All interviews were audio taped, transcribed and the text was subjected to content analysis to identify common themes and understandings. Results: The final sample represented 20% of retrievals for the three month data collection period. Ten interviews were conducted with six mothers, two fathers and two couples. The key themes to emerge from the text were 'Anxiety, Relief, Resilience, and Resources'. Conclusion: Critical illness permits little or no time to adapt, reducing the family's ability to cope with the situation. While parents in this study displayed high levels of resilience in some areas, there was evidence of stress and challenges to coping mechanisms in other areas, particular over successive transfer episodes. Staff require an increased awareness that transfer anxiety exists in a unique manner for parents and children following retrieval, and they need to be knowledgeable about ways to reduce it. Research is required to evaluate interventions aimed at minimising anxiety, optimising coping strategies and providing practical support.

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Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas
Critical Care Medicine
Nursing
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