Family involvement in the care of a hospitalised child: a questionnaire survey of Mozambican family caregivers

Background

Previous research from Western and Eastern countries shows that parents of a sick child want to be involved and to participate during a child's hospitalisation. However, the stay can be stressful and parents have their own needs. Conditions and cultural constructs are different among countries.No published study on parents’ or close family caregivers’ involvement and participation during paediatric hospitalization has been found for an African population.

Objective

The aim of this study was to articulate Mozambican family caregivers’ expressed needs, expectations and experiences of hospital care and hospital staff.

Setting and participants

The study was conducted at the Paediatric Clinic at the Central Hospital in Maputo, Mozambique. A sample of 100 family caregivers was chosen, representing one third of all family caregivers of hospitalised children over a one-month period.

Design and method

A cross-sectional study was conducted, using a questionnaire.

Results

Participating Mozambican family caregivers have, for the most part, a low level of education and reduced socio-economic conditions. This made the admission to and the time in hospital hard to cope with, and difficult for them to understand. The study showed that they were badly informed of anything to do with hospitalisation. They needed explanation and support to make the hospital situation less intimidating.Hospital staff's behaviour was to some extent characterised by attentiveness, kindness, and sympathy, but it was also shown that the family caregivers had experiences of communication difficulties and of being neglected.

Conclusion

The result, in this Sub-Saharan African context, shows that parents or family caregivers have a desire to be involved in the care of their hospitalised child, much the same as has been shown in studies in Western and Eastern countries. But Mozambican family caregivers’ expectations, needs and experiences are rooted not only in poverty, their household situation and the health system, but also in the hierarchical construct of their culture. All these factors influence their communication and relationships. Hospital staff is perceived to be superior. To empower the family caregivers to take part in the caring process in a cultural sensitive way is therefore of great importance.