96.13 A Unique and Helpful Perspective: Parental Input on Pediatric Patient Safety

K. E. Anthony1, N. B. Hebballi1, K. Sheppard1, K. Tsao1, A. L. Kawaguchi1  1McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and Children’s Memorial Hermann,Department Of Pediatric Surgery,Houston, TX, USA

Introduction:  While patient safety research often focuses on the perspective of healthcare providers and patients, the parents of pediatric patients also play a significant role in their children’s healthcare.  We hypothesized that parents will offer unique observations on their children’s healthcare safety that may be useful to improve patient care.

Methods:  We conducted a cross-sectional study on a medical-surgical pediatric unit within a tertiary children’s hospital. Over a ten-week period in 2018, English-speaking parents and legal guardians were asked to complete a paper or electronic survey about patient safety adapted from the validated inpatient Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. The survey contained 20 questions on a 5-point Likert scale representing three domains: safety climate, perception about management, and teamwork. Two additional open-ended questions were included to identify their top three patient safety issues and viewpoints on patient safety in the hospital.

 

Results: 150 of the 168 (89%) patient families approached agreed to participate. 58 of the 150 surveys were returned (39%). 53 were paper surveys and 5 were submitted electronically. Patients had a median length of stay of 3 days (range 1-17 days), with 48% a first hospitalization, and a wide variety of diagnoses.  Overall, 96% of the responses were slightly or strongly positive. Safety climate statements were 95% positive, teamwork statements were 98% positive, and perception of management statements were 97% positive. The statements with the least positive parental responses are listed in the table below.  The top three most common parental responses to the open-ended questions included concerns about security at the entrance of the floor, handwashing by staff, and bed height for pediatric patients.

Conclusion: Parents have a unique perspective on safety concerns regarding their child’s care while in the hospital. A focus on improving communication, improving information exchange, and empowering parents to speak up for their child’s care may be useful to help improve the care of pediatric patients.