Doctors and nurses' views on the participation of parents in invasive procedures of hospitalized children

Objective: To determine health professionals' opinions toward family presence during invasive procedures in children, and to see the difference between the attitudes of physicians and nurses on the issue. Methods: The descriptive study was conducted in June 2016 at the Paediatrics Clinic of Karadeniz Technical University Farabi Hospital, Trabzon, Turkey, and comprised health professionals working at the clinics. Data regarding attitudes of physicians and nurses on family presence during invasive procedures in children was collected using a questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. Results: Of the 95 health professionals, 71(75%) were nurses and 24(25%) were paediatric physicians. Overall, 41(43.2%) subjects supported the idea of family presence during invasive procedures in children; 31(43.7) nurses and 10(41.7) physicians. The 54(56.8%) professionals who did not support family presence cited two major reasons; "Family gives an emotional response (p=0.001)", "It increases the stress of the healthcare provider performing the procedure" (p=0.00)". Conclusion: Healthcare professionals largely did not support the idea of family presence as they believed that the invasive procedures became more challenging.