Family Integrated Care (FICare) for Inpatient Pediatrics

Summary

Everyone wants the best care possible for hospitalized children and their families. Children do better when their parents are involved in their care. Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) is a model of care that was adopted in Alberta’s neonatal intensive care units. With Alberta FICare parents are educated and supported to be a member of their baby’s neonatal care team as soon as they are ready and willing after admission. Alberta FICare improved parental mental health and confidence, which enabled earlier discharge. As the team who implemented Alberta FICare in all 14 NICUs within the province, we now want to know whether this model of care can benefit children and their families on pediatric units.

Currently, we are interviewing children and youth currently or recently admitted to Units 2, 3 or 4 at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and their parents/caregivers/legal guardians (hereafter referred to as "parents"). These interviews are meant to understand children's experiences in the hospital and parents opinions of the care they received while their child was in the hospital. We are also conducting interviews with healthcare providers and management teams at Alberta Children’s Hospital to understand the specific needs of these groups. If Alberta FICare can be adapted to enhance or improve the quality of care at Alberta Children’s Hospital, we will collaborate to share this model of care with other pediatric hospitals so all Canadian children can benefit.