Being in control and striving for normalisation: A Norwegian pilot study on parents' perceptions of hospital-at-home

In recent decades, there has been a shift from hospitalisation to home care throughout the Western world, even for children. Hospital-at-home for children is in a developmental phase and represents a new service model in Norway. The aim of this pilot study conducted in a Norwegian healthcare setting was to explore how parents with a sick child experienced early hospital discharge and further care at home. The qualitative data are drawn from nine interviews with parents with a child admitted to hospital-at-home. Transcripts of interviews were analysed using a method of qualitative content analysis. In the analysis, Antonovsky's salutogenic perspective on how people cope in demanding life situations was applied. The results show that the parents experienced hospital-at-home as providing a calmer, more predictable family life compared to hospitalisation. They argued that good information and training in medical procedures prior to hospital discharge made hospital-at-home easier to master. The participants pointed out the importance of the professionals' competence and their ability to interact with the child and the parent. The certitude that they could return to the hospital at any time made them feel safe and in control. The parents associated hospital-at-home with a kind of normalisation of their family life. They had a prominent need for normalisation, and this was probably a motivation for agreeing to the hospital-at-home arrangement. The findings indicate that hospital-at-home for children is a good solution if the parents are well prepared and feel in control. In addition, certain structural conditions must be in place before this type of health care is established; there must be a certain volume of patients and the distance to the hospital must be clearly limited. Norwegian policymakers should initiate more pilot testing of hospital-at-home for children. Users and clinicians should be involved in establishing and evaluating these services.

Effectiveness and safety of intravenous therapy at home for children and adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses: a systematic review protocol

The objectives of this systematic review are to assess the effectiveness and safety of intravenous therapy at home compared with in-patient intravenous therapy in acute and chronically ill children and adolescents. Outcomes will include improvement of the illness, duration of treatment, clinical complications, adverse effects, mortality, re-admissions and preference for place of care by individuals and/or families.

New kid on the block? Community nurses' experiences of caring for sick children at home

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate the experiences of Swedish community nurses in caring for sick children at home, as this is a growing population of patients in community care.

BACKGROUND

There is international consensus that sick children should receive care in their homes as far as possible. Home health care allows the family to stay together while the child is undergoing treatment and thus reduces strain on the family. However, it can also be demanding for parents to take on increased responsibilities for their sick child. Children as a patient group is a relatively new phenomenon in community home health care in Sweden and represents a small part of the community nurse responsibilities, making it difficult to accumulate experience.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive design.

METHODS

In-depth interviews with twelve nurses in community health care. Qualitative content analysis was used.

RESULTS

'Feeling confident in order to instil confidence' was key in nurses' experiences. Two main themes emerged: 'Building a trusting relationship with the family' and 'Feeling confident in the role as caregiver'. Nurses aimed at creating a trusting nursing relationship and working closely with parents. The nurses' feeling of confidence in their role as caregivers depended on the support they received and the knowledge they had.

CONCLUSION

Many community nurses felt unconfident about caring for children at home but experienced it as manageable when peer support and a distinct collaboration with the paediatric clinic/hospital were present. The ongoing shift from hospital to home care urges paediatric clinics/hospitals and community health care to develop formal policies of transmural collaboration to train and support home nurses to deliver adequate care to sick children and their families at home and safeguard good outcomes.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The implication of the study may contribute to efforts being made to extend and improve cooperation between paediatric clinics/hospitals and community health care.

Hospital-based home care for children with cancer: feasibility and psychosocial impact on children and their families

BACKGROUND

To assess the feasibility and psychosocial impact of a hospital-based home care (HBHC) program for children with cancer.

PROCEDURE

A HBHC program was carried out with 51 children (0-18 years) with cancer to assess its feasibility in terms of satisfaction, care preferences, safety, and cost. A controlled trial was conducted to assess children's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using the parent-reported and self-reported PedsQL generic core scale and PedsQL cancer module, and the psychosocial impact on the family by PedsQL family impact module comprising a subsample of 28 children and 43 parents in the home care group, and 47 children and 66 parents receiving standard hospital care.

RESULTS

All parents in the HBHC program were satisfied and preferred home care. There were no serious adverse events associated with HBHC, and costs did not increase. When adjusting for age, gender, diagnosis and time since diagnosis, we found significant higher HRQOL scores in parent-reported physical health (P = 0.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.2-19.5) and worry (P = 0.04; 95% CI: -0.4-20.6) in the home-care group indicating better physical health and less worry for children in the home-care group. No significant difference was found in the Family Impact Module.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that HBHC is a feasible alternative to hospital care for children with cancer, and is greatly preferred by parents. Specific aspects of children's HRQOL may be improved with HBHC and the psychosocial burden on the family does not increase.

Hospital-based home care for children with cancer

Hospital-based home care (HBHC) is widely applied in Pediatric Oncology. We reviewed the potential effect of HBHC on children's physical health and risk of adverse events, parental and child satisfaction, quality of life of children and their parents, and costs. A search of PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE led to identification of five studies that met the inclusion criteria. All sample sizes were small, and both the interventions and the outcome measures were diverse. Although burdened by these limitations, the studies indicate that HBHC is feasible and carries no crucial negative effects for children with cancer.

Hospital-based home care for children with cancer: a qualitative exploration of family members' experiences in Denmark

The study aims to describe the experiences of a hospital-based home care programme in the families of children with cancer. Fourteen parents, representing 10 families, were interviewed about their experiences of a hospital-based home care programme during a 4-month period in 2009 at a university hospital in Denmark. Five children participated in all or part of the interview. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that hospital-based home care enabled the families to remain intact throughout the course of treatment, as it decreased the strain on the family and the ill child, maintained normality and an ordinary everyday life and fulfilled the need for safety and security. According to family members of children with cancer, hospital-based home care support enhanced their quality of life during the child's cancer trajectory. Our study highlights the importance of providing hospital-based home care with consideration for the family members' need for the sense of security achieved by home care by experienced paediatric oncology nurses and regular contact with the doctor. In future studies, interviews with children and siblings could be an important source of information for planning and delivering care suited to the families' perceived needs.