Background. The importance of parental involvement during invasive procedures (IP) in Pediatric Emergency Departments (PED) has been documented. Objective. 1) To determine the frequency of parental presence during different IP in Spanish PED; 2) To assess the reasons for restricting their presence; and 3) To evaluate the agreement among healthcare professionals. Method. Descriptive multicenter study based on questionnaires distributed among the chiefs of 32 Spanish PED. Results. Family presence is allowed during some IP, including wound suture (23/32), lumbar puncture (17/32), or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (3/32), with no significant differences among hospitals. The main reasons for restricting parental presence are the perception of parents not being prepared to witness the procedure (17/31), the concern that their presence would adversely affect the performance by the healthcare provider (12/31), or parental anxiety (11/31). Occasionally, problems derived from the parental presence have been reported, such as dizziness (20/32) or the need to interrupt the procedure (13/32). Healthcare professionals agree with the presence of parents during some invasive procedures (19/23), but not during the most invasive ones (30/32). Twenty-seven PED chiefs stated the need to develop educational programs, working groups, and dedicated protocols to regulate the presence of parents during IP. Conclusions. Despite the usual presence of parents during IP in the PED, the existence of reasons for restriction, as well as the lack of consistent agreement among healthcare professionals on the types of IP where parental presence should be permitted, highlights the need to develop educational initiatives about the benefits of parental presence.
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