Experiences of families with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in World Health Organization Afro-Regions: A scoping review.

A scoping review on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its impact on the families of affected children was undertaken due to insufficient information available on the diverse experiences impacting their lives. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, eligibility criteria were guided by Population (families), Concept (family experiences), and Context (African region). English-language articles were sought from a variety of databases and search engines. The publication date of the identified articles ranged from 2003 to 2021 with most published in 2020 (n = 10), and the majority using qualitative methodologies (n = 51). Most family members involved were parents (n = 51) and their ages ranged from 18 to 75 years. The families experienced various challenges related to their child with regard to education, healthcare, and the broader community including lack of support. Family coping strategies included believing in God, attending counseling sessions, adapting, and accepting the situation. Healthcare professionals should be prepared and positioned to educate families and siblings on various aspects of ASD. There is a need for active, continued research on families within most countries of World Health Organization Afro-region.

Clinical mentorship of midwifery students: The perceptions of registered midwives.

Background: Clinical mentors are experienced practitioners who play an important role in encouraging the professional development of students in clinical areas. The responsibility of clinical mentorship in nursing is often difficult to maintain. However, there is a dire need for clinical mentorship in maternity units, especially in South African hospitals were high maternal mortality rates remain alarmingly high. Aim: This study aimed to describe the perceptions of registered midwives regarding the clinical mentorship of midwifery students. Setting: The study occurred in a semi-rural state regional hospital in the eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: A qualitative exploratory and descriptive design was conducted using in-depth individual interviews with midwives in maternity units. A purposive and convenient sampling method recruited 17 registered midwives from 3 maternity care areas within a single setting. Interviews were audio-recorded and all data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Five categories emanated from this study namely, sharing knowledge and skills; encouraging role model behaviour; promoting self-worth; Is a challenging task; and requiring additional support. Conclusion: Clinical mentorship has a reciprocal effect on teaching and learning in maternity care areas and encouraged registered midwives to lead as role-models. The process demands competence, professionalism, and leading by example. Despite the confidence, satisfaction and interest in clinical mentorship, registered midwives often find the process challenged by patient care priorities. Therefore, registered midwives require additional support to mentor students in clinical practice. Contribution: This article shows that clinical mentorship places various challenges on registered midwives and formal mentorship training could be beneficial.

'We are pulled to the four corners': Qualitative role descriptions of advanced practice children's nurses in Malawi.

PURPOSE: This study investigated emerging roles among specialist child health nurses (CHNs) in Malawi. Advanced nursing role development is globally advocated. Nursing role descriptions provide an evidential basis for workforce planning. Rigorously developed role descriptions are scarce worldwide, especially for Africa. Advanced nursing roles were introduced in Malawi's child health system a decade ago. DESIGN AND METHODS: We followed guidance on generating nursing role descriptions to collect and analyse qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, using qualitative content analysis. We used COREQ reporting standards. RESULTS: More than half (41/80) of Malawi's child health nursing workforce participated. Richly descriptive accounts of roles elicited three themes: leading and developing new services and improving existing ones; holding rare knowledge which uplifts care quality; and responsibility for developing the role. These responsibilities are experienced as a privilege and a burden, often meaning CHNs are 'pulled to the four corners'. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: We found evidence of remarkable achievements by Malawi's CHNs but also suggestions that they are under heavy strain. Because multi-stakeholder agreement about role content is crucial to successfully implementing advanced nursing roles, we hope the approach taken by this study, and the information generated, could be useful as part of human resources for health strategy development in other lower-resourced countries globally.

Student nurse perceptions of family nursing practices in South Africa: A descriptive survey.

Background: Family nursing practices (FNPs) are gaining momentum in global literature, but the available research has targeted qualified nursing professionals. There are limited studies exploring this phenomenon in undergraduate student nurses in South Africa. Aim: The study aimed at exploring the undergraduate student nurse perceptions of FNPs. Setting: The study was conducted at a selected university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: A descriptive survey design was used to purposively select undergraduate nursing students. The Family Nursing Practice Scale (FNPS) was used to collect data online. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data. Open ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Results: Out of 154 participants, 77 responded to the questionnaire, translating to a response rate of 50%. Compared with other studies in literature, student nurses rated their overall FNP as being low (M = 3.43, s.d. = 0.99). A further descriptive analysis revealed better FNPs (2.97) for 3rd year compared to 2nd year (3.90) nursing students with significance differences in the means (p < 0.0001). While family conflict, maintaining confidentiality, ill prepared and absent family were challenges experienced in FNP, advantages included obtaining detailed information, ability to plan individualised care and enhanced student nurse-family relationship. Conclusion: A lower critical practice appraisal and lower perceptions of interaction and reciprocity in the nurse-family relationship were identified. There is need for an inclusive curriculum that promotes and advocates for family nursing within the undergraduate programme. Contribution: This study highlights the importance of teaching family nursing to undergraduate student nurses.

Examining the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses among healthcare workers in South Africa: A mixed-methods study.

This study aimed examin the factors associated with the uptake and non-acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses among healthcare workers (HCWs) in South Africa. We used a mixed-methods design with data from a web-based self-administered survey followed by semi-structured in-depth interviews (IDIs) with selected participants. Of the 6235 HCWs included in our analysis who had fully vaccinated, 3470 (56%) had taken their booster dose with a further 17% intending to get the booster. HCWs aged 35 to 49 years (OR = 1.30 [95% CI: 1.15-1.46]), and those aged 50 years or older (OR = 2.66 [95% CI: 2.32-3.05]) were more likely to get the booster dose. Females were less likely to have received the booster dose (OR = 0.88 [95% CI: 0.79-0.98]) with doctors more likely (OR = 1.58 [95% CI: 1.35-1.84]) than Nurses to have received the booster dose. HCWs in direct contact with patients (OR = 1.17 [95% CI: 1.00-1.38]) and who had previously received a flu vaccine (OR = 1.99 [95% CI: 1.56-2.55]) were more likely to have received the booster dose. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: (1) Vaccination as routine practice among HCWs; (2) Emergence of new COVID-19 variants necessitating vaccine boosters; (3) Fear of potential side-effects; and (4) Limited value of COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Some HCWs broadly accepted the value of vaccination, and believed that boosters were necessary to effectively combat emergent new virus strains, which contrasted with peers who believed that boosters offered little defence against virus mutations. Fear prohibited some HCWs from getting the booster, with some having experienced adverse side effects from their initial vaccination, whilst others were concerned about future complications. Waning booster uptake rates could be arrested through invigorated communication strategies, while effective evidence-based training can potentially create positive normative vaccination practices amongst HCWs.

"Feeling Like an Island": Perceptions of Professional Isolation Among Emergency Nurses.

INTRODUCTION: Professional isolation, feelings of being isolated from one's professional peers and lacking mentoring and opportunities for professional interaction, collaboration, and development, is a challenge for workers across the labor market. The notion of professional isolation is particularly prevalent in low-resource health care settings and is common among emergency nurses. METHODS: This study explored the perceptions of professional isolation among emergency nurses working in a low-resource environment using individual interviews with 13 participants in 5 settings in Lesotho. RESULTS: The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and revealed an overarching theme of "feeling like an island" containing 3 categories, namely lack of interprofessional collaboration and consultation, skills mismatch, and enforced loneliness. DISCUSSION: This study suggests that lack of interprofessional collaboration and consultation, skills mismatch, and enforced loneliness have influenced feelings of professional isolation among emergency nurses working in low-resource environments. The findings of this research lend support to the idea that communities of practice may have a potential impact in addressing professional isolation.

Evaluation of intermittent antimicrobial infusion documentation practices in intensive care units: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To observe nurse administration of carbapenem antibiotics, in the context of medication safety measures, in intensive care units. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN: A quantitative study was conducted using observation principles. SETTING: Three adult private and public Intensive Care Units in the health district of a capital city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nurse practices were observed for double-checking of the medication order, medication vial, and method of preparation and administration. Infusion bags were inspected for nurse labelling of medication and patient details. Patient medication treatment charts were inspected for nurse signature. RESULTS: Carbapenem infusion administrations (n = 223) to twenty patients were observed. Adherence to the scheduled time occurred in 34.9% administrations, 5.4% doses were not given, and an incorrect dose given on 1.4% administrations. One hundred and forty-four (64.6%) infusion bags were inspected during the administrations: there was no medication label affixed to 21.5% bags, and only 8.3% of bags were labelled with essential details; the patient's name, drug, dose, date, time, signature of the nurse mixing and administering the dose, and signature of the secondary nurse. CONCLUSION: There was a lack of compliance with accepted medication risk mitigation measures. Sub-optimal double-checking resulted in the incorrect dose given, missed dose, and non-adherence to scheduled administration time. This has implications for the optimal administration of antimicrobial medications, raising concerns about the efficacy of treatment for critically ill patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Parenteral administration errors pose a challenge in acute care areas. Risk mitigation measures include double-checking of medications. If antimicrobial treatment is not administered at the prescribed dosing intervals, this may have implications for the efficacy of time-dependent broad-spectrum antibiotics such as carbapenems. Medication administration errors involving antimicrobial medications should therefore be considered as high-risk errors, with the potential to contribute towards antimicrobial resistance.

Obtaining feedback from patients and their family in the emergency department.

Obtaining feedback from the patient and their family members regarding their experience of the care they received in the emergency department is important. This provides an extremely valuable opportunity for healthcare professionals to assess the quality of care and serves to highlight any areas of weakness or strength in the care experience. Through a synthesis of available literature, this article describes the challenges in measuring such an experience especially in emergency departments in Africa, and outlines tools that are currently available in literature to measure the patient and family experience and or satisfaction. Implementation considerations are outlined in order to provide recommendations for emergency department healthcare professionals wanting to undertake such assessments.

Barriers and enablers to scholarship for post basic nursing students in clinical service.

BACKGROUND: Clinical scholarship is defined as an approach that enables evidence-based nursing and the development of best practices to meet the needs of clients efficiently and effectively. However, there are many barriers that impede its progress. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the barriers and enablers to scholarship for post basic nursing students in clinical service areas. METHOD: This multimethods study used a structured questionnaire followed by semi-structured individual interviews of post basic nursing students and their lecturers (nurse educators). RESULTS: The 81 students who completed the questionnaire indicated a lack of support or funding assistance and mentoring, as well as no mechanisms to reward or recognise scholarship as top barriers to clinical scholarship. Top enablers were noticed as reward mechanisms in place, more protected time and availability of role models and mentoring. Twelve respondents engaged in the qualitative phase and three categories emerged from the data, namely (1) resource dependent, (2) 'what's the use of research', (3) making a change. CONCLUSION: It has been shown that there is a need to adopt and promote a culture of clinical scholarship to ensure that the best available evidence is being utilised by nurses to effectively manage their patients; however, to support clinical scholarship, resources are needed.Contribution: This study highlighted the lack of funding and resources as being a major barrier to scholarship, together with an institutional culture that did not promote clinical scholarship. Providing protected time, mentoring and criteria for promotion and reward based on scholarship is viewed as enabling.

Tracking the Trauma Epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Trauma remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in South Africa, but attempts to track the epidemic are often based on mortality data, or derived from individual health facilities. This project is based on the routine collection of trauma data from all public health facilities in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), between 2012 and 2022. METHODS: Hospital level data on trauma over the past ten years was drawn from the district health information system (DHIS). Data relating to assaults, gunshots and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) were recorded in the emergency rooms, whilst data on admissions are recorded in the wards and intensive care units. RESULTS: There were 1,263,847 emergency room visits for assaults, gunshots and MVCs over the ten-year period and trauma admissions ranged between four and five percent of the total number of hospital admissions annually. There was a dramatic decrease in trauma presentations and admissions over 2020/2021 as a result of the COVID lockdowns. Over the entire period, intentional injury was roughly twice as frequent as non-intentional injury. Intentional trauma had an almost equal ratio of blunt assault to penetrating assault. Gunshot-related assault increased dramatically over the 2021/2022 collecting period. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of trauma in KZN remains high. The unique feature of this burden is the excessively high rate of intentional trauma in the form of both blunt and penetrating mechanisms. Developing injury-prevention strategies to reduce the burden of interpersonal violence is more difficult than for unintentional trauma.

Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Healthcare Workers in South Africa.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) were the first population group offered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in South Africa because they were considered to be at higher risk of infection and required protecting as they were a critical resource to the health system. In some contexts, vaccine uptake among HCWs has been slow, with several studies citing persistent concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness. This study aimed to determine vaccine uptake among HCWs in South Africa whilst identifying what drives vaccine hesitancy among HCWs. We adopted a multimethod approach, utilising both a survey and in-depth interviews amongst a sample of HCWs in South Africa. In a sample of 7763 HCWS, 89% were vaccinated, with hesitancy highest among younger HCWs, males, and those working in the private sector. Among those who were hesitant, consistent with the literature, HCWs raised concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. Examining this further, our data revealed that safety and effectiveness concerns were formed due to first-hand witnessing of patients presenting with side-effects, concern over perceived lack of scientific rigor in developing the vaccine, confidence in the body's immune system to stave off serious illness, and both a general lack of information and distrust in the available sources of information. This study, through discursive narratives, provides evidence elucidating what drives safety and effectiveness concerns raised by HCWs. These concerns will need to be addressed if HCWs are to effectively communicate and influence public behaviour. HCWs are key role players in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme, making it critical for this workforce to be well trained, knowledgeable, and confident if they are going to improve the uptake of vaccines among the general population in South Africa, which currently remains suboptimal.

Out of Chaos Leaders Emerged.

COVID-19 had a major influence on nursing with the pandemic resulting in changes in the work environment while experiencing physical and emotional challenges such as moral distress, fear for self and family and dealing with the unknown. However, during this period, nurses demonstrated extraordinary resilience, crafted innovations in clinical practice, communication and support, providing leadership in the health service and in the nursing profession.

Factors influencing critical care nurses' family engagement practices: An international perspective.

BACKGROUND: Family engagement positively impacts patient and family members' experiences of care and health outcomes. While partnering with families denotes best practice in intensive care units (ICUs), its full adoption requires improvement. A better understanding of the factors that influence the implementation of family engagement practices is necessary. AIM: To investigate the factors that enable or hinder adult ICU nurse-family engagement and to explore potential international variations. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional survey. Nurses from 10 countries completed the 'Questionnaire on Factors that Influence Family Engagement' (QFIFE), including five open-ended questions. We performed descriptive statistics on quantitative data and content analysis for open-ended questions, and then integrated the findings according to influencing factors and geographical patterns. This was part of a larger qualitative study where 65 nurses participated from adult intensive care units. RESULTS: Sixty-one nurses completed the questionnaire, making a response rate of 94%. Overall, patient acuity (Md = 5.0) and nurses' attitudes (Md = 4.6) seemed to be the most influential facilitator, followed by nurse workflow (Md = 4.0) and ICU environment (Md = 3.1) (score 1-6 most influential). The open-ended question data showed a more nuanced picture of the complexity of family engagement in care around these four determinants. Adding a fifth determinant, namely Families are complex structures that respond uniquely to the ICU and patient, revealed that difficult family dynamics, miscommunication and family having difficulty in understanding the situation or health literacy, hindered family engagement. Exploring geographical variations, Africa/Middle East consistently differed from others on three of the four QFIFE subscales, showing lower median levels. CONCLUSIONS: Some determinants are perceived to be more influential than others, becoming barriers or enablers to nurse-family engagement in adult ICU. Research that investigates contextual determinants and which compares implementation and improvement initiatives tailored to address family engagement practices barriers and enablers are needed. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Knowledge of this international study expands our understanding of enablers and barriers in family engagement that may inform family engagement practice improvement efforts around the world.

Family-Focused Nursing Research in WHO Afro-Region Member States: A Scoping Review.

Although family nursing research has become an important focus for over the past 20 years, the evolution and extent of family nursing research in the World Health Organization (WHO) Afro-regions is less explored. The purpose of this scoping review was to map the evidence of family-focused nursing research using the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review methodology. A systematic electronic search of articles was carried out for the period January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2020. The review process culminated in 85 articles, evidencing an increase in publications particularly in 2019 (n = 12). Eighteen countries were involved, with the Southern African region contributing 52% of the studies. Family members were predominantly described as parents, siblings, and children, with the most focused area of study being family experiences (n = 52). The majority of studies (n = 59) used qualitative methodologies. Despite the recent increase in family-focused nursing research in the WHO Afro-regions, further qualitative research, including more complex methodologies and interventions are still required to build contextualized evidence-based family-focused nursing.

An intervention to manage compassion fatigue in oncology nurses in Durban, South Africa.

Background: Oncology nurses are involved through the often protracted and potentially traumatic continuum of diagnosis and treatment of their patients, which places them at high risk of developing compassion fatigue. Aim: The aim of the study was to develop and implement an in-facility intervention to manage compassion fatigue among oncology nurses in Durban, South Africa. Setting: The study was conducted with oncology nurses at state, private (private health insurance) and non-governmental oncology facilities (Hospice). Methods: The Self-Care Intervention for Oncology Nurses was developed and implemented using action research with a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. It involved an integrative review, Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) v 5 questionnaires (n = 83) and in-depth individual interviews (n = 8). Results: Developed from the findings of the integrative review, quantitative and qualitative data, the Self-Care Intervention for Oncology Nurses comprised three components, namely psycho-education on risks (booklet), practices of remembrance (remembrance tree) and support structures (support group and follow-up family call). Overall, the participants enjoyed reading the booklet and engaging in the support group. There were varied responses to the remembrance tree and hesitancy to partaking in the follow-up phone call. Conclusion: The developed intervention could encourage awareness of compassion fatigue amongst oncology nurses' engagement in self-care practices such as symbolic remembrance of patients and recognition of the value of support structures. Contribution: The intervention may assist oncology nurses in the provision of compassionate caring for their patients and potentially minimise compassion fatigue.

Public perceptions on Twitter of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The use of social media platforms to convey public opinions and attitudes has exponentially increased over the last decade on topics related to health. In all these social media postings related to the pandemic, specific attention has been focused on healthcare professionals, specifically nurses. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore how the keyword 'nurse' is located in COVID-19 pandemic-related tweets during a selected period of the pandemic in order to assess public perception. METHODS: Tweets related to COVID-19 were downloaded from Twitter for the period January 1st, 2020, to November 11th, 2021. Sentiment analysis was used to identify opinions, emotions, and approaches expressed in tweet which included 'nurse', 'COVID-19', and 'pandemic' as either keyword or hashtags. RESULTS: A total of 2,440,696 most used unique words in the downloaded 582,399 tweets were included and the sentiment analysis indicated that 24.4% (n = 595,530) of the tweets demonstrated positive sentiment while 14.1% (n = 343,433) of the tweets demonstrated negative sentiment during COVID-19. Within these results, 17% (n = 416,366) of the tweets included positive basic emotion words of trust and 4.9% (n = 120,654) of joy. In terms of negative basic emotion words, 9.9% (n = 241,758) of the tweets included the word fear, 8.3% (n = 202,179) anticipation, 7.9% (n = 193,145) sadness, 5.7% (n = 139,791) anger, 4.2% (n = 103,936) disgust, and 3.6% (n = 88,338) of the tweets included the word surprised. CONCLUSIONS: It is encouraging to note that with the advent of major health crises, public perceptions on social media, appears to portray an image of nurses which reflects the professionalism and values of the profession.

Identification of risk factors for postoperative pulmonary complications in general surgery patients in a low-middle income country.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are an important cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Although risk factors for PPCs have been identified in high-income countries, less is known about PPCs and their risk factors in low- and middle-income countries, such as South Africa. This study examined the incidence of PPCs and their associated risk factors among general surgery patients in a public hospital in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to inform future quality improvement initiatives to decrease PPCs in this clinical population. METHODS: A retrospective secondary analysis of adult patients with general surgery admissions from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017 was conducted using data from the health system's Hybrid Electronic Medical Registry. The sample was comprised of 5352 general surgery hospitalizations. PPCs included pneumonia, atelectasis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism, prolonged ventilation, hemothorax, pneumothorax, and other respiratory morbidity which encompassed empyema, aspiration, pleural effusion, bronchopleural fistula, and lower respiratory tract infection. Risk factors examined were age, tobacco use, number and type of pre-existing comorbidities, emergency surgery, and number and type of surgeries. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to identify risk factors for developing a PPC. RESULTS: The PPC rate was 7.8%. Of the 418 hospitalizations in which a patient developed a PPC, the most common type of PPC was pneumonia (52.4%) and the mortality rate related to the PPC was 11.7%. Significant risk factors for a PPC were increasing age, greater number of comorbidities, emergency surgery, greater number of general surgeries, and abdominal surgery. CONCLUSIONS: PPCs are common in general surgery patients in low- and middle-income countries, with similar rates observed in high-income countries. These complications worsen patient outcomes and increase mortality. Quality improvement initiatives that employ resource-conscious methods are needed to reduce PPCs in low- and middle-income countries.

Nursing stakeholder identification guidelines for human resources for health and health workforce development: A scoping review.

AIM: To investigate the existence of guidelines on the identification of nursing stakeholders as part of planning for human resources for health processes. BACKGROUND: Effective involvement of nursing stakeholders in planning and implementing human resources for health policies is strongly advocated by leading global bodies. Systematic identification of nursing stakeholders at an early stage is fundamentally important. Guidelines to support appropriate identification and inclusion of nursing stakeholders could support the active involvement of nurses and midwives in human resources for health planning processes at all levels. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. We conducted a widely inclusive search for all types of records, including searches of bibliographic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science) and manual searches of selected websites and internet archives to identify grey literature, published in English since 2009. Search terms related to guidelines, stakeholder engagement and the health workforce. RESULTS: Of the 1058 potentially relevant sources identified, two studies met inclusion criteria. Both were guidelines produced by global bodies more than 12 years ago. Cochrane guidance on reporting 'near-empty' reviews was followed, and eight additional sources meeting most of the inclusion criteria were identified and critiqued. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines regarding the process of nursing stakeholder identification specific to human resources for health planning processes are scarce and require updating. Critique of recent practices suggests considerable methodological variety and sub-optimal identification of nursing stakeholders. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: Nursing stakeholder engagement is an essential component of human resources for health planning processes, and the gap in literature points to a need for up-to-date guidance to ensure nurses' active involvement.

In-hospital interventions to promote relational practice with families in acute care settings: A scoping review.

Relational practice is characterised by genuine interaction between families and healthcare professionals that promotes trust and empowerment. Positive clinical outcomes have been associated with relational practice. To assess and examine in-hospital interventions designed to promote relational practice with families in acute care settings of emergency departments, intensive care units and high care units. The preferred reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines informed the design of this scoping review. To identify relevant studies, databases (Academic Search Complete; CINAHL; PubMed; PsyInfo) and the search engine Google Scholar were searched using terms for core elements of relational practice and family engagement. Of the 117 articles retrieved, eight interventional studies met the search criteria. The interventions focused on relational practice elements of collaborating with and creating safe environments for families, whilst only one addressed healthcare professionals being respectful of families' needs and differences. In relation to the nature of engagement of families in interventions, the focus was mainly on improving family functioning. Family engagement in the interventions was focused on involving families in decision-making. The scoping review revealed a limited number of in-hospital interventions designed to promote relational practice with families in acute care settings. Further research is encouraged to develop such interventions. Contribution: The scoping review has highlighted specific elements of relational practice that have been overlooked in the mapped interventions. This provides guidance on where future interventional research may be focused.