AN EXPLORATORY STUDY EXAMINING PARENTAL FEEDING PRACTICES IN THE HOSPITAL

Abstract

This retrospective exploratory study exploratory intends to extend the current stock of knowledge on parental feeding practices that parents engage in while in the hospital and what influences these practices. Bronfenbrenner's Process Person Context Time (PPCT) Model is used as a framework for study, focusing the research on influences that impact the behavior of parents related to qualities of their "person" that impact how they engage in the feeding of their child, the proximal "processes" involving the mealtimes they provide their child, and their cultural "context" related to food and eating. The researcher interviewed and surveyed five participants who were all parents of children who had been hospitalized between the ages if 2-8 years old in the United States. The research revealed that a child's condition does seem to impact the feeding practices which parents engage, social interaction was reduced, and timing of meals was more irregular in the hospital compared to at home, parents reported concerns related to their child's condition and pain level as well as staff attentiveness, and finally, parents' customs surrounding food focused on their views on healthy vs unhealthy foods and clearing the plate. These findings have major implications for parents and hospitals and indicate the need for more targeted and in-depth research in a variety of topics related to parental feeding in the hospital.