In their own voices: How can parents' expectations in the care of their children with complex health conditions be met by NB and PEI professional care providers

Abstract

Families of children with complex health conditions (CCHC) face many everyday struggles. It is important for stakeholders (i.e., healthcare, social and education providers) to understand the needs of these families in order to give them the best care possible. This study aimed to describe the insights of parents of CCHC in two Maritime provinces, New Brunswick (NB) and Prince Edward Island (PEI), about how health care providers can meet their expectations. A qualitative descriptive design was used to analyze the secondary data of family interviews. Participants’ interview data (N = 24) consisted of 16 participants from NB and 8 participants from PEI. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) communication/collaboration; (2) support; and (3) advocacy. This study described these findings and discussed their practical implications. Overall, the current research emphasized the voices of parents of CCHC in Atlantic Canada to answer: how can healthcare providers meet the expectations of parents of CCHC’s care?