A reflexive thematic analysis of ambulance nurses' experience of facilitating child-centered care.

INTRODUCTION: Ambulance nurses' (ANs) feel less confident treating children. According to the United Nations Convention on Child Rights, there is a provision to safeguard children's rights. Child-Centered Care (CCC) strives to lift children's voices in healthcare. AIM: To describe ambulance nurses' experiences of facilitating child-friendly care. METHOD: A qualitative approach with Reflexive Thematic Analysis was performed on seventeen individual semi-structured interviews. RESULT: One overarching theme, caring with the child in center, and three themes were developed: adapting to follow the child's lead, being reliable by balancing the trust, stepping back and supporting. DISCUSSION: The ANs' communication with the children was honest and straightforward. Letting the child and the parents perform the care together reduced the child's anxiety. Guided participation was used by ANs, expanding the child's initiative. CONCLUSION: The ANs work according to CCC, but unknowingly. It is important and beneficial to elevate the CCC to a conscious level. The ANs could refer to CCC in training new colleagues, reflecting on cases, and incorporating the Child Act in their work.

An emotional journey when encountering children in prehospital care: Experiences from ambulance nurses.

BACKGROUND: Care encounters with children are a challenging and important task, but opportunities for such encounters are rarely available. Therefore, ambulance nurses (ANs) face difficulties in gaining experience in properly handling children, which can lead to stress for the ANs. A deeper understanding of ANs' emotions through the course of the care encounter is needed. AIM: To describe how ambulance nurses' feel and manage their emotions before, during and after a care encounter with a child. METHODS: A qualitative approach was adopted, with content analysis being performed on seventeen individual interviews. FINDINGS: Three themes were identified: Feeling worried and insecure, Emotional surge, and Mixed feelings of satisfaction and concern. CONCLUSION: The ANs experienced a range of emotions during a care encounter with children as they had little experience with it. More training and education in paediatric care could benefit ANs. The ANs use professionalism during care encounters to create a calm and secure atmosphere for families. Their will to bring about a safe journey for the child and family through the care encounter supersedes their nervousness. Reflection after a care encounter could strengthen their confidence in their professional role and reduce emotional distress in future encounters.