Patient experience in the pediatric emergency department: do parents and children feel the same?

• Published in: European journal of pediatrics 2017-09, Vol.176 (9), p.1263-1267
• Main Authors: Parra, Cristina, Vidiella, Nereida, Marin, Irene, Trenchs, Victoria, Luaces, Carles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Children; Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Female; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Pain; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Patient Satisfaction - statistics & numerical data; Patient-Centered Care; Pediatrics; Short Communication; Time-to-Treatment
• ISSN: 0340-6199; 1432-1076
• DOI: 10.1007/s00431-017-2954-4

The objectives are to describe the experience of children and parents in a pediatric emergency service (PED) and to determine whether there are differences of opinion between the two groups. This was a descriptive study. A questionnaire was designed based on the Picker questionnaire on the patient experience. From July through December 2015, a survey was made of the children aged 8–18 treated in the PED, as well as of their parents. The proportion of dissatisfaction was determined. A total of 514 questionnaires (257 children, 257 parents) were completed. The most poorly rated aspects according to the children and parents were the entertainment activities (43.2%), the waiting time (23.7%), and the treatment for pain (10.5%). Differences were detected in the experiences of the children and the parents regarding the overlong waiting time (28.0% children vs 19.5% parents; p  = 0.023), inadequate explanations (7.0 vs 1.6%, p  = 0.002), inadequate treatment for pain (14.4 vs 6.6%; p  = 0.004), and insufficient privacy (11.7 vs 2.7%; p