Honouring the Past – Paediatric Nursing

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Presenter Professor Linda Shields

Date Presented : 27th October 2016

Abstract

The history of the care of children in hospital shows how
models of care developed after the changes brought about
in the 1960s, which primarily recognised that the belief
that children admitted to hospital were psychologically
better off without their parents was flawed. Models of care
such as care-by-parent, partnership-in-care and family centred
care evolved following parental lobbying, changes
in government will and missionary work of a handful of
pioneers who showed that admitted children were at high
risk of psychological distress. This paper will examine this
history, and the evolution of models of care.
A new model – child-centred care – will be described and
discussed. It came about because health professionals
(and largely nurses) realised that the evidence base for
the effective implementation of family-centred care is
severely lacking. Questions have arisen as to the ethics
of implementing a model for which little evidence exists.
In very recent times, and in response to those questions,
child-centred care has arisen (Carter et al. 2014; Coyne et al.
2016). Its proponents believe that in the bid to provide care
for the whole family, we have lost sight of the centrality of
the child and its needs.
The paper will consider child-centred care, and its
implications for the children and families for whom we care.
Carter B, Bray L, Dickinson A, Edwards M, Ford K. (2014).
Child-Centred Nursing Promoting Critical Thinking. London:
Sage Publications
Coyne I, Hallström I, Söderbäck M. (2016). Reframing
the focus from a family-centred to a child-centred care
approach for children’s healthcare. Journal of Child Health
Care, Early view, DOI: 10.1177/1367493516642744