{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T06:23:38Z","timestamp":1787207018583,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Health Serv."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The inter-facility transfer of a critically ill child to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a highly stressful time for families. This exploratory study aimed to identify care practices important to patients\/families during urgent transfers of children from frontline settings to a higher level of care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a mixed methods study using surveys and interviews of parents\/guardians of children transferred to a single PICU from external institutions. Participants were surveyed about their perceived importance of transfer-related care practices, specifically those addressing families' understanding of transfer, communication, family presence, and patient\/family needs. A subset of parents were interviewed to characterize their transfer experience and identify improvement opportunities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of 23 patient-parent dyads who consented, 13 parents completed the initial survey, 11 completed the follow-up survey, and four participated in interviews. From the surveys, three care practices were identified as most important to responding families: 1) providing parents\/guardians with verbal information about their child's condition, 2) providing patients the ability to request their parents\/guardians during transfer, and 3) immediately contacting families with significant patient status changes. Interviews revealed that communication with healthcare teams is a substantial factor affecting families' experience of a smooth vs. stressful inter-facility transfer.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this exploratory study, care practices ensuring that timely information about a child's clinical condition is relayed to their parents\/guardians were most important to families of critically ill children undergoing inter-facility transfer to the PICU. Communication between families and healthcare teams plays a significant role in families' experiences of transfer.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frhs.2026.1835422","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T05:27:50Z","timestamp":1787203670000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Patient and family-centered care practices during inter-facility transfer of critically ill children: an exploratory mixed methods study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Claire","family":"Stucky","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine","place":["West Des Moines, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aaron M.","family":"Scherer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver 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C.","family":"Balikai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine","place":["Iowa City, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Madhuradhar","family":"Chegondi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and OSF HealthCare Children\u2019s Hospital of Illinois","place":["Peoria, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mitchell A.","family":"Luangrath","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine","place":["Iowa City, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nehal 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