Exploring How Family-Centred Care is Experienced and Managed in Adult Inpatient Medical Wards

What this Trial Is About

This research explores how family-centred care is understood and experienced in adult inpatient medical wards in the UK. It involves patients, their families, and nurses to understand the communication, emotional support, and shared decision-making involved, while also examining ethical challenges such as differences in family and patient preferences or clinical decisions. The study compares findings from the UK with similar research conducted in Israel to learn how cultural values influence family involvement in hospital care. Participants include patients admitted to internal medicine wards, their family members, and registered nurses working in these wards. Each participant will take part in a single semi-structured interview lasting about 30 to 60 minutes, conducted face to face, by phone, or video call based on their preference. The interviews focus on topics like privacy, informed consent, patient autonomy, and decision-making, with audio recordings made with consent and later transcribed. Participants will be interviewed once, and their experiences and views will be analyzed to identify themes about family involvement, ethical tensions, cultural influences, and nursing communication. Personal data will be anonymized and securely stored, with recordings deleted after the study. The study aims to develop practical communication approaches for culturally sensitive family-centred nursing care while respecting patients rights and nurses professional duties.

An Exploration of Family Centred Care (FCC) in UK Inpatient Wards