Nurse Leaders’ Perceptions of Organisational Policies, Guidelines, and Practices That Enact Children and Young People’s Involvement in Hospitals

There is limited literature on nurse leaders’ perceptions of organisational policies, guidelines, and practices that enact children and young people’s (CYP) involvement in hospitals. Nurse leaders within what were the four District Health Board providers of children’s tertiary health services in New Zealand (Auckland, Counties Manukau, Wellington, and Canterbury) were invited to respond to an online survey during November 2022 through to January 2023. The survey was developed by the researchers in accordance with the literature and included 11 open-ended questions. The open-ended questions were analysed iteratively through inductive thematic analysis. Eight out of 24 invited nurse leaders responded to the survey. Thematic analysis of the findings resulted in four key themes that highlighted how nurse leaders perceived their organisations provided a platform for children and young people’s involvement in hospital: Policy and Guidelines; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Models of Care; and CYP’s Voices. Nurse leaders described various means and methods utilised to enact CYP’s participation within paediatric settings in New Zealand. A multi-tiered collaborative approach with government, industry, leaders, healthcare professionals, family and CYP is required to enhance CYP’s agency/voice in New Zealand hospitals as in alignment with the United Nation Convention of the Rights of the Child.