What is it about?
Families who stay in nearby purpose-built accommodation report more positive patient experiences. In our most recent study of 10 hospitals that provide pediatric services across the United States, the most common accommodation for pediatric inpatient families was at the bedside (76.8%) and for neonatal intensive care families was in their own home or the home of a relative or friend (47.2%). Yet those families who stayed in a RMH reported significantly higher overall experience scores for their child’s hospital stay, were more likely to recommend the hospital and were more likely to view their accommodation as being helpful to staying involved in their child’s care than parents who stayed at the child’s bedside or their own homes.
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Why is it important?
This study highlights how nearby accommodation that includes family peer-to-peer and other support services helped improve the quality of the hospital experience for these families.
Perspectives
Ronald McDonald Houses have long been viewed as a providing helpful lodging and support to families when their children are hospitalized. This study shows that Ronald McDonald Houses are not just a nice service for families but really essential. It also shows that Ronald McDonald Houses enhance family-centered care.
Ms Nicole Rubin
Impact Solutions, LLC
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Child and Family Hospital Experience, Medical Care Research and Review, April 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1077558715579667.
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