Psychosocial Care Models for Families of Critically Ill Children in Pediatric Emergency Department Settings: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Problem: Critical illness in children is a significant and stressful life event for families. Within pediatric emergency department (ED) settings it is acknowledged that these crises are challenging for both the families of these children, and for the clinical staff treating the child. Literature recommends routine care should include an offer to the family to be present with their critically ill child, however there is a lack of clarity regarding specific family care models or evidence-based interventions to guide clinical practice.

Eligibility criteria: Peer reviewed articles written in English, published between 2006 and 2016, proposing or testing psychosocial care models in pediatric (or mixed) emergency settings.

Sample: Nine articles met inclusion criteria.

Results: Search results showed limited evidence available in the literature at this time. Thematic analysis of article content and proposed model showed strong support for the benefit of family presence, including shifting the family role from passive to active, needing to be inclusive of the psychological impact of critical health events, importance of multidisciplinary education, and the need for additional exploratory and empirical research to evaluate and refine proposed care models.

Conclusions: Pediatric emergency health events are challenging for both families and staff, and care models provide staff with a consistent, evidence-informed approach to caring for families in challenging situations.

Implications: There is a need to find common ground from specific discipline guidelines into a multidisciplinary team approach for the care of families within emergency care.

Keywords: Care model; Emergency; Family; Pediatric; Psychosocial.