Methods: During 2016, an international email discussion between nurse academics and clinicians working within paediatrics, highlighted a lack of evidence in relation to the conceptual and operational definition, education, practice and research initiatives for child centred care and family centred care (Carter and Ford, 2013; Coyne et al., 2016; Dickinson et al., 2014: Foster, 2015; Shields, 2015; Smith, et al., 2015). Despite child centred care and family centred care being consistent with ideals of empowerment, autonomy and human rights, the evidence base relating to the feasibility, appropriateness, meaning and effectiveness of these models of care on health outcomes for the child, parent, family and healthcare professionals are weak (Cunningham and Rosenbaum, 2014; Curtis et al., 2016; Foster et al., 2016; Shields, et al., 2012).
As this discussion evolved, it became apparent that an international forum of multi-disciplinary paediatric experts within education, practice, academia, research and leadership from multiple countries/cites was needed to explore, critique and build on the present state of the science for paediatric models of care from an international perspective. Through e-mail exchanges, teleconferencing and snowballing, to date an international collaborative group of 24 multidisciplinary paediatric experts from 13 countries constitutes the International Child and Family Research Network. This includes Australia, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Malawi, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Results: Our activities to date have included:
- An online survey to establish the purpose of the group, the logistics of managing online international meetings, ways of sharing resources and responding to the trends and issues within paediatric nursing and healthcare. Consensus suggests the objective of the group will include communication, discussion and critique of research, theory, education and clinical practice concerning family centred care and child centred care; identify research priorities and develop collaborative international multi-site research projects on family centred care and child centred care from developed and developing countries; engage in collaborative conference presentations; promote healthcare initiatives for children and families to encompass the child's and family’s psycho-social physical and emotional well-being; advocate for children, parents, families and healthcare professionals as active research participants in healthcare and make informed recommendations on the strategic planning/directives for family centred care and child centred care to governmental, institutional and organizational bodies worldwide.
- A Blog and Twitter Chat January 2017 - on losing the child’s voice and ‘the captive mother’. The chat resulted in 2254826 impressions on Twitter (http://blogs.bmj.com/ebn/ and the Storify at https://storify.com/josmith175/loosing-the-child-s-voice-and-the-captive-mother-a
- A published article - Smith, J., Shields, L., Neill, S. & Darbyshire P. (2017) Losing the child’s voice and ‘the captive mother’: An inevitable legacy of family centred care? Evidence-Based Nursing, 20, 67-69 (Smith et al., 2017).
- Conference Symposium - Dialogue on family focused care, family centred care and child centred care: Generating the evidence and ethics, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Conference, Dublin, July 2017 (Shields et al., 2017).
- Group members though the distribution list have contributed to a ‘consensus on the best definition and characterization’ study that aimed to revise the definition of family centred care, offer recommendations regarding its characteristics and application to research and practice. This is presently being drafted for a peer reviewed journal.
Conclusion: The International Child and Family Research Network evolved when paediatric experts networked after an online discussion forum on the feasibility, appropriateness, meaning and effectiveness of child centred care and family centred care. From here an international multicultural perspective now includes 24 members from 13 countries with dissemination of knowledge enacted through social media, peer reviewed journals and research initiatives. The purpose of the group is to remain connected, engaged and iterative learners to facilitate world growth, advancement and leadership in the areas of child centred care and family centred care that is internationally relevant and contextually appropriate in the areas of education, theory, practice and research. The International Child and Family Research Network has the potential to make a significant difference in the field of paediatrics from an international perspective.