Towards Person-Centred Paediatric Care: Insights into the Design, Impact, and Management of Family Room

Context In a world increasingly focused on person-centred care, family rooms exemplify this approach in paediatric settings. Grounded in the belief that a child’s well-being is closely linked to their family’s well-being, these spaces allow parents to rest, spend time with their hospitalised children, and actively engage in the care process. Despite their potential, guidelines for designing and implementing family rooms remain inconsistent, and research on their impact on care continuity and professional integration is limited. Further studies are essential to validate their benefits and develop scalable models that support the shift towards person-centred paediatric care. Methods This research investigates the role and value of family rooms in paediatric settings, with an empirical focus on Italy. A multi-method, multi-phase approach forms the basis of the study, consisting of two main phases. The first phase establishes the theoretical foundation through a desk review of existing literature and secondary resources, analysing the current state of knowledge and identifying key characteristics and types of family rooms. The second phase, currently in progress, involves semi-structured interviews with Italian and international family room managers to gather practical insights. These include their impact on care continuity and professional integration, operational practices, challenges encountered, and strategies for overcoming them. Preliminary findings from these interviews are beginning to surface, providing valuable perspectives that will be discussed in the subsequent section. Results From the existing literature and secondary resources, three key outcomes were identified: A classification framework for family rooms was developed based on the expected length of stay and whether the space prioritises the family or the child. A list of essential design features was outlined, emphasising elements such as neutral colours, homely environments, ergonomic and flexible furniture, access to natural light, and dedicated play areas. Family rooms were found to positively impact families by addressing financial, emotional, cultural, and environmental dimensions of well-being. These benefits extend to multiple stakeholders, including families, children, healthcare staff, volunteers, and volunteer organisations. These findings align with the concept of care continuity, highlighting the importance of providing consistent, coordinated responses to patient needs over time. Interviews have confirmed these outcomes while also yielding operational insights, best practices for family room management, and preliminary results on effectively measuring their impact. Discussion This study provides a deeper understanding of family rooms by highlighting their pivotal role in paediatric care from both theoretical and managerial perspectives. Insights from the interviews, informed by the literature review on care continuity and professional integration, confirmed three key dimensions as potential frameworks for evaluating the impact and efficiency of family rooms: (1) organisational model, focusing on structural collaboration; (2) integration rate, assessing the level of professional coordination; and (3) patient-perceived continuity, reflecting the quality of the care experience from the family’s perspective. By demonstrating that family rooms promote interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen professional relationships, enhance the effectiveness of care pathways, and provide emotional support to families and children, the findings highlight the importance of integrating a people-centred approach into paediatric care.