Ten recommendations for child-friendly visiting policies in critical care
Maria Brauchle, Teresa Deffner, Peter Nydahl, the ICU Kids Study Group, Alexander Brinkmann, Svenja Dehner, Rolf Dubb, Simon Finkeldei, Birga Gatzweiler, Carsten Hermes, Christian Heyd, Magdalena Hoffmann, Marie‐Madlen Jeitziner, Arnold Kaltwasser, Tita Kern, Kathrin Knochel, Lars Krüger, Heiner Melching, Guido Michels, Tilmann Müller-Wolff, Sabrina Pelz, Julian Rudolph, Denise Schindele, Anna‐Henrikje Seidlein, Arne Simon, Marina Ufelmann
Abstract
For many years, there has been a debate about whether children and adolescents are allowed to visit their sick parents, grandparents, siblings, and others in the intensive care unit (ICU). Whereas worldwide visiting regulations in paediatric ICUs are mostly open for children’s visits, very heterogeneous policies exist in ICUs for adult patients. Children, defined as infants, toddlers, school-age children, and adolescents from 0 to 17 years, are part of the whole family and when it comes to family-centred care, the question arises: do we let them in?