Perspectives of Youths and Adults Improve the Care of Hospitalized Adolescents in Spain

Abstract

Abstract:Purpose: To determine and compare the preferences and priorities of youths and adults about the best ways to improve hospitals that would have an impact on the quality of life of hospitalized adolescents.Method: Participants in this study were 364 adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age (96 hospitalized) and 148 adults (96 parents of patients and 52 health professionals). All the participants completed a questionnaire about their preferences and priorities with regard to hospitalization.Results: A high degree of agreement among the youths and the adults was observed, especially in the importance assigned to agreeableness of clinical staff to improve adolescents' experience of hospitalization. Some discrepancies were also observed. The youths granted more importance to issues related to filling in time, specifically to the leisure technology available for patients. The adults assigned more importance to the organization of the hospital stay, in particular, for adolescents to be admitted with patients of the same age and for them to receive academic support in the hospital.Conclusions: Adolescents express a coherent perspective about the aspects that may help them to feel better in the hospital, in some ways different from the perspective of the adults who care for them.

Hospital Designs for Patients of Different Ages

“…Evidenced-based design, understood as the scientific justification that can support the importance of aspects of the physical setting for health and curing (Hamilton, 2004), requires an accepted taxonomy of the relevant dimensions (Berg, 2005). Among the dimensions to consider, the symbolic dimension space has been proposed, with reference to the interpretation and meaning that users give to health care settings and to the repercussions of such interpretations and meanings on people's wellbeing (Belver & Ullán, 2010). The results obtained in this work support this proposal of considering the symbolic dimension of hospital settings as a particularly relevant dimension for young people, emphasizing that a model of adolescent patient-centered care must be aware of these patients' viewpoint, also with regard to the design of hospital settings.…”

“What we want”: chronically ill adolescents’ preferences and priorities for improving health care

“…Several studies (mostly in the US, UK, and Canada) have explored experiences and preferences of adolescents with chronic conditions in three major domains, ie, communication with health professionals, 9 , 12 , 23 – 26 outpatient facilities, 10 , 11 , 27 and inpatient services. 2 , 15 , 28 – 30 Some studies focused on themes related to privacy 31 or adolescents’ decision-making preferences. 32 The various studies applied either qualitative 2 , 15 , 23 – 26 , 31 , 33 or quantitative 9 , 10 , 12 , 30 methodologies.…”

Valoración de aspectos éticos y metodológicos en un estudio cualitativo con personas usuarias de Oncología Pediátrica

“…Las personas menores de edad entrevistadas en el presente estudio mostraron opiniones claras sobre la calidad asistencial recibida y el trato deseado por los y las profesionales de la salud, una característica observada también en trabajos anteriores (Carter y Ford 2013;Einarsdottir 2005;Kondo y Sjöberg 2012;March et al 2003;Trell y Van Hoven 2010;Ullán et al 2012;Wilkinson 2000).…”

“…2005). Dentro de un análisis de la calidad asistencial percibida, el conocimiento de la experiencia de menores de edad se puede identificar como un área de estudio emergente que plantea cuestiones éticas y metodológicas específicas (Ångström-Brännström, Norberg y Jansson 2008; Curtis et al 2004;Duncan et al 2009;Gibson et al 2010;González-Gil 2005;Mah et al 2006;March et al 2003;Ullán et al 2012;Woodgate y Degner 2003).…”