The purposes of this article were to summarize the development of family-centered pediatric care, review the current state of nursing research in this area, and recommend directions for future study. A literature review of 30 nursing research studies between 1995 and 2006 was conducted. Results revealed that evidence of consistent provision of family-centered pediatric care is lacking. Many areas of research remain undeveloped, but there is a solid foundation for moving forward in conducting research focused on assisting nurses in implementing this basic philosophy of practice in all settings and situations in which children receive health care.
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.