Joana Romeiro Fellow of Postdoctoral Program in Integral Human Development, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Lisbon, Portugal. E-mail: jromeiro@ucp.pt; joana.m.romeiro@gmail.com
Catarina Pinheiro Master´s degree in Pediatric Nursing; Registered Nurse, ULS Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal E-mail: catarina_pinheiro96@hotmail.com
Pope Francis’ words at the inauguration of a temporary shelter for parents of hospitalized children warned that “when a boy or girl becomes seriously ill, they need specialized care and often this care is found in hospitals far from home. However, we know how fundamental the love, tenderness and closeness of the mother and father are, in addition to the intervention of doctors and nurses, for the care and recovery of a child” (Vatican News, 2024). It calls for attention to health care in a family environment, full of meaning, and support not only for the biological aspect of the disease, but also for emotional and spiritual needs. For instance, Narayanasamy (2010) and McSherry and Smith (2012) lists spiritual needs as: the need for meaning and purpose; need for love and harmonious relationships; need for forgiveness; need for a source of hope and strength; need for trust; need for expression of personal beliefs and values; need for spiritual practices; and expression of concept of God or Deity or Divinity.
We know that, currently, scientific evidence reveals the need for connection as a particular, primary and innate aspect within care and in the family environment (Romeiro et al., 2017) and also recommends that the sick child be cared for whenever possible in their domicile – Home. This statement is reinforced by the European Association for Children in Hospital (2022) when highlighting that institutional hospitalization should be the last option or resort in pediatric care.
According to Kanagala et al. (2023), the concept of Pediatric Home Hospitalization (PHH) has existed for more than 25 years, but has been more widely addressed due to the increase in hospitalizations due to the SARS-COV2 pandemic crisis. The authors Cabrera López and collaborators (2022) and Reigosa and collaborators (2024) enlightened us about the concept of PHH as continuous care at home in the acute illness phase or exacerbation of chronic illness, where specialized care is provided by a multidisciplinary team 24 hours a day, through in-person visits and/or virtual (online) consultations.
Given the numerous advantages related to the PHH care model, combined with the fact that there are currently only two PHH units in Portugal. There should be further research into this care model, something already suggested by Pinheiro and collaborators (2024), in order to expand this practice of holistic, comprehensive and family-centered care.
References:
Cabrera López, I. M., Agúndez Reigosa, B., Adrados García, S., Villalobos Pinto, E., Cano Fernández, J., & Jiménez García, R. (2022). Home–hospital care for children with acute illnesses: A 2‐year follow‐up study. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 58(6), 969–977. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.15870
European Association for Children in Hospital. (2022). Promoting Children’s Rights and Needs in Healthcare. www.each-for-sick-children.org
Kanagala, S. G., Gupta, V., Kumawat, S., Anamika, F., McGillen, B., & Jain, R. (2023). Hospital at home: Emergence of a high-value model of care delivery. The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine, 35(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43162-023-00206-3
McSherry, W., & Smith, J. (2012). Spiritual care. In W. McSherry, R. McSherry & R. Watson (Eds.), Care in nursing—Principles, values and skills (pp. 117–131). New York: Oxford University Press.
Narayanasamy, A. (2010). Recognizing spiritual needs. In W. McSherry & L. Ross (Eds.), Spiritual assessment in healthcare practice (pp. 37–55). Cumbria: M&K Publishing.
Pinheiro, C., Pires, C., Romeiro, J., Ramos, S., & Charepe, Z. (2024). The experience of children and family in pediatric home hospitalization: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 78, e124–e132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2024.06.027
Reigosa, B. A., Cabrera López, I. M., Sánchez Marcos, E., Galán-Olleros, M., Sánchez Olivier, M., Calleja Gero, L., & Jiménez García, R. (2024). Hospital at Home Program for the Treatment of Pediatric Osteoarticular Infections. Hospital Pediatrics, 14(2), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2023-007265
Romeiro J, Caldeira S, Brady V, Timmins F, Hall J. Spiritual aspects of living with infertility: A synthesis of qualitative studies. J Clin Nurs. 2017;26:3917 3935. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.1381
Vatican News “Francisco: toda criança doente deve ter a mãe e o pai ao seu lado”. 2017-2025 Dicasterium pro Communicatione https://www.vaticannews.va/pt/papa/news/2023-03/papa-francisco-mensagem-casa-frizzi-doente-acolhimento.html
OpenEdition sugere que esta publicação seja citada da seguinte forma:
joanaromeiro (10 de Janeiro de 2025). Integral Human Development in Pediatric Care: The Future of Hospitalization. Desenvolvimento Humano Integral. Recuperado em 9 de Fevereiro de 2025 de https://doi.org/10.58079/1327i