Moke’s framework for the contextualization of family-centred care in the management of hospitalised children in Kenya

Abstract

Appropriate management of hospitalised children is crucial to the recovery process. The philosophy and principles of Family - Cantered Care (FCC) have made it to be identified as ―best practice‖ in paediatric hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to presen t Moke‘s framework for the contextualization of FCC in management of hospitalised children in Kenya. The framework was developed after analysis of data from a descriptive cross sectional study carried out in two phases at a national teaching and referral h ospital and a private Children‘s Hospital in Kenya. Data were obtained from healthcare providers and parents of hospitalized children by use of questionnaires and interview and focused group discussion guides. Quantitative data were analyzed by use of desc riptive statistics. Significance testing was done by use of Chi Square and logistic regression at 95% significance level. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. About 54.6% of the parents were actively involved in decision making on the man agement of the hospitalised child. There was a statistically significant association between the healthcare providers‘ knowledge of FCC and the level of parental involvement in decision making (X 2 =0.444, P<0.001). The respondents defined partnership in care as a situation where the healthcare providers and the child‘s family work together in planning, implementing and evaluating care for the hospitalised child. This is achieved through training and sensitization, review, establishment and documentation of childcare policies and implementation guidelines, improving of the work environment and attitude change amongst the stakeholders. These are the core tenets of Moke‘s framework