• Karina Terp and Annica Sjöström-Strand.
• Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Box 117, 221 00 LUND, Sweden. Electronic address: karina.terp@med.lu.se.
• Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2017 Dec 1; 43: 143-148.

BackgroundFor parents, having a child admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a very stressful experience filled with anxiety. Parents are often scared and traumatised. This stress can lead to PTSD.AimThe aim was to describe parents' experiences and the effect on the family two years after their child was admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit.Material And MethodsTen parents were interviewed according to a semi-structured interview guide. An inductive approach was applied for the study and qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe parents carried vivid memories and they were still strongly affected by the experience of having their child admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit. They could clearly recall the environment, feelings that affected them and how they felt powerless. The relationship between the parents had been strengthened.ConclusionParents, siblings and the ill child could all show symptoms of anxiety, stress and sleeping disorders. The parents valued life differently.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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