Parents' experiences of an inpatient pediatric integrative medicine service for symptom management.

Background: Pediatric integrative medicine (PIM) refers to the combination of treatments from conventional medicine and complementary therapies for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness. As pediatric use of complementary therapies increases, it is important to determine parental views on the use of these therapies by their children.

Objective: To describe parental experiences with a PIM service for management of pain, nausea/vomiting and anxiety in the context of an inpatient pediatric cardiology unit.

Design: Telephone interviews were carried out with the parents of pediatric cardiology inpatients. The interviews focused on their and their child's experiences with the PIM service while in the hospital. Interviews were transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Data saturation was reached after nine interviews conducted during the period between June 2015 and January 2016. Parents self-reported that the PIM service was particularly helpful at alleviating symptoms of anxiety in their children. Moreover, because their children were more at ease, parents also felt less anxiety.

Conclusion: Pediatric integrative medicine as an adjunct to conventional care is seen as beneficial by parents of children admitted to a pediatric cardiology unit.