Factors Predicting Parent Participation in Caring for Hospitalized Children with Chronic Diseases

Being hospitalized with chronic disease is a stressful situation for most children that can be affect their well-being. Parent participation in child care is required for getting a better outcome.

The objective of this study was to identify factors predicting parent participation in caring for hospitalized children with chronic diseases.

In this study, the participants consisted of 234 parents of hospitalized children with chronic diseases and 125 nurses who cared for the children in four tertiary hospitals in central Thailand. Self-reported questionnaires were used in data collection. Data were analyzed using a descriptive statistic, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and ordinal regression.

The results revealed that parent participation in caring for hospitalized children with chronic diseases had a statistically significant positive relationship with perceived self-efficacy in caring for hospitalized child, information support from health care providers, and communication between parents and nurse (r = .39, .34, and .39 p < .01, respectively). Using ordinal regression analysis, the parents’ perceived self-efficacy in caring for their child was the only predictor of parent participation in caring for hospitalized children with chronic diseases, accounting for 72.65%.

Parents’ perceived self-efficacy in child care was the only predictor with a strong influence on parent participation in child care. This can be used as preliminary data for developing an effective intervention program for enhancing parent participation that would result in better health and quality of life for those children.