Parent/Carer Experiences of Bringing Children to ICU
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Parent/carer perspectives on including children in end-of-life visits to Intensive Care Units (ICUs): A project for the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology.
IRAS ID
348222
Contact name
Amy Malone
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2025/01/09 health research, UCL Data Protection Registration Number
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study is aiming to understand parent/carer perspectives on including children in end-of-life visits to Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The specific research questions are:
1. What informs parent/carer decisions about children visiting ICU to say goodbye to loved ones?
2. What have parents/carers found to be useful and less useful in terms of professional support around these decisions and visits?This research is considered important due to the current lack of standardisation of visiting practices across NHS settings, the paucity of representation of parent/carer voices in current research, and the lack of understanding and guidelines tailored specifically to end-of-life visits.
It is hoped that, by conducting this exploratory qualitative research, a more thorough understanding of the experiences of parents who have made these decisions can be reached. Such understanding could be used to inform further research and subsequent development of guidelines for psychology practitioners and other ICU colleagues supporting families facing these difficult circumstances.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0244
Date of REC Opinion
23 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion