Objective: The objective of this study was to identify if family characteristics or opinions affected participation in family centered rounds.
Design: Observational study of 431 patient encounters on daily work rounds, followed by 100 questionnaires completed by family members of patients in the unit during observation.
Setting: PICU at a tertiary care, academic, free-standing children's hospital.
Subjects: Patients and families admitted to the PICU during the observation period.
Intervention: None.
Measurements and main results: The most frequent family members present for rounds were mothers (40%). Race, educational level, age of the family member, age of the child, whether the admission was expected, and whether the family member was a medical professional had no association with whether the family member attended rounds. Both family members who were present and those who were not present felt being at rounds would improve the care of their child (87% vs. 100%, p = 0.57). A family's response that they preferred to attend rounds was the only factor associated with a higher likelihood of attending rounds (odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 1.1-10.8, p = 0.03).
Conclusion: Families feel that participating in family centered rounds improves the care of their children. Those that like attending rounds are more likely to participate in family centered rounds, but family demographic characteristics were not associated with rounds attendance. Future studies are needed to identify barriers to family participation in family centered rounds.