The Pediatric Nurse From the Perspective of Children With Hospitalization Experience: a Qualitative Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to determine the perceptions of children with hospital experience about pediatric nurses. Design: A descriptive qualitative design guided by a phenomenological approach was used. Settings: A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 17 children aged 7–18 who had experienced hospitalization in pediatric clinics. Methods: The study employed rigorous research methods, including semi-structured interviews and thematic analyses, to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. Data were analyzed using the MAXQDA20 program, resulting in the identification of 322 codes. Five themes and 16 sub-themes were created from the obtained codes, providing a comprehensive understanding of the children's perceptions. The COREQ checklist was followed in this study. Results: Five themes were created: the image of the pediatric nurse in children's minds, children's expectations from pediatric nurses, the characteristics of the pediatric nurse, children's perception of whether nurses care about or do not care about them, the topics nurses talk about with children. Conclusions: Pediatric nurses have positive and negative images of children, children have child-specific expectations from pediatric nurses, such as playing and chatting. Some nurses' attitudes and behaviors create the perception that children care about or do not care about them. Practice implications: This study's findings have a practical impact on pediatric nursing. In addition to their treatment and care practices, nurses can communicate more with children, spend more time with them, play more games with them. This way, the needs and expectations specific to children's age periods are met, leading to improved patient outcomes. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.