Background/Introduction: Ambulance nurses (ANs) experience a range of emotions in caring for children, feeling anxious and nervous if they lack experience or training (1). There is also an expectation for them to be respectful of the child´s autonomy, described in child-centered care (CCC) (2). ANs handle these challenges by stepping in to their professional role or pretending to be calm (1). Hence, it is important to research about how ANs create child friendliness.
Objectives: To describe the experiences of ANs in creating child-friendly care encounters.
Methods: Seventeen individual semi-structured interviews with ANs were analyzed using the reflexive thematic analysis (3).
Results: The themes (see figure 1) show the adaptation carried out by the ANs in caring for the child. They let the child set the pace in an encounter, employing sensitivity to the child´s signals. ANs were honest and direct, safeguarding the trust, allowing the participation of both child and parents in the care. Staying in the background when possible, letting the child and parents be close. ANs strived to maintain the child-centeredness of the care, prioritizing the child´s autonomy.
Conclusion: Although not aware, ANs work with a strong connection to CCC. The ANs’ care links to multiple key factors in CCC, such as child´s perspective and guided participation (2). This should be highlighted to strengthen the ANs perception of the care given and benefit the children by clearly define the importance of respecting their autonomy.
Figure 1. Overview of the overarching theme and themes
References
1. Näsström M, Junehag L, Häggström M, Holmström-Rising M. An emotional journey when encountering children in prehospital care: Experiences from ambulance nurses. International Emergency Nursing 2023;66.
2. Coyne I, Hallstrom I, Soderback M. Reframing the focus from a family-centred to a child-centred care approach for children's healthcare. Journal of Child Health Care 2016;20(4):494-502.
3. Braun V, Clarke V. Thematic analysis : a practical guide. SAGE; 2022.
2023.
22nd International Conference on Emergency Medicine, Amsterdam, 13-16 June, 2023