Discrepancies between nurses' current and perceived necessary practices of family-centred care for hospitalised children and their families: A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: This study investigated (1) the discrepancies between the nurses' current and perceived necessary practices of family-centred care (FCC), and (2) the nurses' demographic characteristics associated with current and perceived necessary practices of FCC for hospitalised children and their families in Malawi.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 444 nurses was conducted. The Family-Centred Care Questionnaire-Revised was used to examine the discrepancies between the nurses' current and perceived necessary practices of FCC. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed to identify the nurses' demographic characteristics associated with current and perceived necessary practices of FCC.

Results: The total mean score of the nurses' current practices of FCC (M = 34.78, SD = 7.06) was significantly lower than that of the nurses' practices of FCC that were perceived as necessary (M = 38.63, SD = 5.60, p < 0.001). The nurses who were over 40 years of age (regression coefficient, β = 9.162, p = 0.014), had a postgraduate qualification (β = 23.314, p < 0.001), were separated or widowed (β = 9.661, p = 0.029), had a Tumbuka cultural background (β = 12.984, p < 0.001), were Seventh-day Adventist members (β = 8.863, p = 0.026), and worked in mission hospitals (β = 16.401, p = 0.021) were more likely to implement current practices of FCC. Conversely, the nurses who were members of the Moslem, Buddhist, or Hindi religious denomination (β = 6.587, p = 0.040), had a Tonga or Ngonde cultural background (β = 6.625, p = 0.046), and were nurse midwife technicians (β = -23.528, p = 0.012) were more likely to implement practices of FCC that they perceived as necessary.

Conclusion: Significant differences between the nurses' current and perceived necessary practices of FCC suggested that there were barriers to implementing necessary practices of FCC. The nurses' cultural and religious backgrounds were predictors of current practices of FCC, and this finding could direct the future development and testing of FCC interventions in Malawi.

Practice Implications: Continued educational activities and research on the factors that contributed to the discrepancies between the nurses' current and perceived necessary practices of FCC and their impact on FCC in Malawi are critical.