Health professionals' perceptions and practice of family centred care for children injured in road traffic accidents: A qualitative study in Ghana Lillian Akorfa Ohene a, ⁎, Kevin J. Power b , Raghavan Raghu b a University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana b De Montfort University, Leicester, UK abstract article info Article history: Received 23 December 2019 Revised 9 February 2020 Accepted 11 February 2020 Available online xxxx Keywords: Ghana Family centered care Family involvement Professionals Road traffic accidents The Family Centered Care (FCC) model is widely recognized as the standard for pediatric care practice in the con- text of families and hospitalized children. Healthcare professionals' knowledge of the FCC model is therefore cen- tral to its successful implementation. Nonetheless, there is paucity of scholarship in the Ghanaian context, regarding professionals' knowledge and practice of FCC. Objectives: This study, being the first in the Ghanaian context aimed to explore the perceptions of family centered care among healthcare professionals who provide the healthcare needs of children hospitalized through road traffic accidents. Method: Twenty-four (24) healthcare professionals were interviewed as part of a larger study which adopted a Grounded Theory approach. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently. Here, we employed constant comparative methods to structure emerging categories and sub-categories. Findings: Most health professionals in the study perceived family centered care to mean family involvement, al- though obvious inconsistencies characterized existing practices. Based on contextual perspectives, three catego- ries emerged, namely; parental involvement, communication and setting boundaries. Conclusion: The concept of FCC is a familiar terminology among health professionals. However, its principles, components and dimensions in the western context are alien to healthcare professionals in Ghana. A context- specific FCC model which reflects social values and cultural norms is therefore required for healthcare services to children and families in Ghana. Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Background Family Centered Care (FCC) is widely recognized as the gold stan- dard in pediatrics practice (Richards, Starks, O'Connor, & Doorenbos, 2017). After over five decades of its evolution, FCC is best described as a caring model for children and their families within healthcare services which ensures that care is planned with and around the whole family - not just the individual child (Uniacke, Browne, & Shields, 2018). Thus, family members are recognized as care recipients (Shields, 2007). Con- ceptually, eight defining elements describe the FCC model (Institute for Patient and Family-Centered Care, 2019). These include: a) Recognizing the family is a constant in the child's life; Facilitating parents/profes- sional collaboration; Recognizing family strengths and individuality; Sharing unbiased and complete information with parents; Encouraging and facilitating parent-to-parent support; Understanding and incorpo- rating the development needs of infants, children and adolescents and their families; Implementing appropriate policies and programs that are comprehensive; Assuring that the design of the health care delivery system is flexible, accessible, and responsive to family needs. The wide endorsement of FCC is mirrored in its inter-and intra- continental exploration, integration in national health policies and sub- sequent institutional adoptions. For example, Feeg & Shields (2018) compared FCC practice in America, Australia, Turkey (Asia and Europe) and established its application in practice, with differences and similarities across four continents. The literature further demon- strated evidence of FCC being the foundation of child practice interna- tionally (Al-Motlaq & Shields, 2017; Coyne, Murphy, Costello, & O'Neill, 2013; Coyne, 2015; Raiskila et al., 2016). Additionally, FCC as a child care approach has gained commendation, support and advocacy from key child health promoters such as the Institute for Patient-and- Family-Centered Care (IPFCC), American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Pediatric Nursing (SPN) and Maternal and Child Health Bureau and National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) (Dokken, Parent, & Ahmann, 2015; Kemp, Ahmed, Quan, Johnson, & Santana, 2018; Irlam & Bruce, 2002; Hill, Knafl,& Santacroce, 2017). Journal of Pediatric Nursing xxx (xxxx) xxx ⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box LG 43, Accra, Ghana. E-mail addresses: lohene@ug.edu.gh (L.A. Ohene), rraghavan@dmu.ac.uk (R. Raghu). YJPDN-02157; No of Pages 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2020.02.005 0882-5963/Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Pediatric Nursing journal homepage: www.pediatricnursing.org Please cite this article as: L.A. Ohene, K.J. Power and R. Raghu, Health professionals' perceptions and practice of family centred care for children injured in road t..., Journal of Pediatric Nursing, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2020.02.005