Analysis of the Family-Oriented Medicine Implementation to Improve the Quality of Medical Care to Children in the Ternopil Children`s Hospital, Western Ukraine

"Family-oriented medicine" (FOM) means an approach that recognizes the family’s role in the child’s life and aims to maintain a relationship between hospitalized children and their families.

The caregivers’ involvement in a child’s caring accelerates recovery and increases parental satisfaction with medical services. The literature has shown FOM leads to a reduction of the visits to emergency departments in pediatric practice (Brousseau D.C., 2007). A study by LaRosa-Nash P.A., et al. showed that the presence of parents during treatment reduces the child`s anxiety and increases parental satisfaction with the care provided.

The research aim was to analyze the level of introduction of FOM in the Ternopil Children`s Hospital.

We conducted an anonymous survey of parents of children hospitalized at the Ternopil Children’s Hospital during autumn, 2019. 80 questionnaires were distributed, 62 completed were returned. The questionnaire contained 5 questions. Each question was offered a 5-point scale; 1 point – "No effort was made" and 5 – "Every effort was made".

66.2% of respondents believed that hospital staff makes every effort to understand the child`s health problems. The answers to questions 2 and 3 showed that parents believed that health professionals did not always listen to their opinions and concerns. Respectively, only 24.2 and 22.5% of respondents were completely satisfied.

Responding to question 4, "Did the health care providers make every effort to involve you in all of your child`s procedures?", a majority (67.7%) said they were not entirely satisfied in this regard. 66.1% of respondents believed they did not always receive sufficient explanations about the hospital regimen and course of treatment.

Thus, in Ukraine there are attempts to apply FOM and involve parents in caring for children in health care facilities, but this does not always meet the needs and expectations of family members, as evidenced by the survey results.