Parent and Clinician Perceptions of Suctioning in Hospitalized Children With Bronchiolitis.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to characterize parent and clinician perceptions of suctioning in hospitalized children with bronchiolitis in a multicenter study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included parents of hospitalized children younger than 2 years with bronchiolitis and clinicians (physicians, advanced practice clinicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses) who care for hospitalized children with bronchiolitis at 4 children's hospitals. We excluded patients with a tracheostomy, ventilator dependence, hemodynamically significant cardiac disease, or neuromuscular disease. We used a general qualitative framework with an inductive thematic analysis approach and semistructured interviews. All interviews were conducted by a trained research coordinator with coding by 2 trained professionals for the first 25%, with the remainder of the interviews coded by a primary coder. Interviews continued until sufficient information power was obtained. RESULTS: We conducted 14 parent and 25 clinician interviews from January 2024 through May 2024. Most parent interviews were completed by mothers of hospitalized children (71%). Clinician interviews were completed by 7 (28%) nurses, 10 (40%) physicians or advanced practice clinicians, and 8 (32%) respiratory therapists with a wide range of experience. We identified clear parent and clinician themes and themes in which parents and providers held conflicting views. Parents felt that suctioning helped feeding and sleeping and led to faster overall recovery from illness, whereas clinicians often cited the time-oriented nature of bronchiolitis. Clinicians felt that suctioning carried the potential for harm and generally felt that suctioning was overused. CONCLUSIONS: Families generally had favorable views of suctioning, whereas clinicians' views were much more guarded.
