Parents' perceived quality of pediatric burn care.

PURPOSE: To describe parents' perceived quality of pediatric burn care and evaluate factors associated with differences in perceived quality among parents.

METHODS: 62 parents of children with burns were recruited on a Swedish national basis 0.8 to 5.6years after the child's injury. Measures were an adaptation of the Quality of Care Indices - Parent questionnaire consisting of 8 subscales and one overall question, the Impact of Event Scale -Revised, Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, and Injury-specific fear-avoidance.

RESULTS: Ratings of quality of care were high, especially regarding Staff Attitudes, Medical Treatment, and Caring Processes. Overall satisfaction rated from 1 to 10 was on average 9.1 (SD=1.2). Overall satisfaction and specific indices of Quality of care were not associated with burn severity, parent gender, or parent age. However, Quality of care was associated with current symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression, and parents of girls expressed being less satisfied with Participation.

CONCLUSIONS: Parents' perceived quality of care is associated with psychological health, but not with characteristics of the child's injury or age. The results suggest that burn care can improve by involving parents of girls more and by being more attentive towards parents who themselves appear stressed or worried.