Pediatric healthcare professionals (HCPs) provide care to both the child and their family caregiver(s) such as parents, grandparents, or guardians. A critical and stressful time for family caregivers and HCPs is the resuscitation of a child [1], [2]. Pediatric cardiac arrest in children and adolescents occurs at a rate of 2.28 to 8.04 (100,000 cases/year), with cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates per age group ranging from 65.5 to 72 (infants), 3.7 (children), and 6.3 (adolescents) for the 100,000 cases/year [3]. In Asian countries, pediatric cardiac arrests occurred in 1.5% of the total number of patients under 17 years of age [4]. Anxiety, stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress are specific psychological effects that can occur among caregivers when their child requires resuscitation [5]. Therefore, pediatric resuscitation is one of the most critical times when caregivers need to receive support [5], [6], [7]. Leaving caregivers unattended and unsupported, whether they are witnessing the resuscitation or not, is not appropriate [8].

Pediatric HCPs have an important role in providing parental support when children are critically ill in intensive care wards or emergency departments [5], [9]. In addition to practicing with clinical expertise, HCPs should also be sensitive to the needs of caregivers and consider provision of support [10]. Providing support to caregivers is an evidence-based practice [11], and a crucial part of family-centered care (FCC) [12]. The focus is on supporting the family and meeting the needs of both the family and the child, which is essential according to the perspectives of caregivers [13]. Therefore, providing available family support resources and considering the supportive roles that HCPs can perform is important for optimal FCC [12], [13]. Nurses can support critically ill children and their families in the emergency department by implementing elements of FCC [9].

The Pediatric Advanced Life Support guidelines from the American Heart Association recommend that when family is present during pediatric resuscitation, it is beneficial for a designated member of the healthcare team to answer their questions and provide comfort and support [14]. The Resuscitation Council UK and the European Resuscitation Council also recommend support for family members during resuscitation [15], [16]. Additionally, published review articles confirm that support for caregivers during and after pediatric resuscitation is crucial [17], [18]. Even if the caregivers are not present at the time of resuscitation or decline the invitation to be present in the resuscitation room, they continue to need support while their child is resuscitated [7], [19]. Care in this critical time can be provided by a parental supporter, also called a family facilitator, within or outside of the resuscitation room [1], [20], [21]. In addition to meeting caregiver needs, presence of a parental supporter can allow the resuscitation team to fully focus on the care of the child [22], [23]. Despite the importance of this role, few studies have investigated it. A recent study by Powers et al (2022) examined how critical care nurses perceive and perform the family support person role during resuscitation, but the focus was on supporting family of adult patients and the lived experiences of family members were not explored [24]. The nature of this role on the resuscitation team has not been clarified in pediatric settings; therefore, this study aimed to explore caregivers’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions of a parental supporter during pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation to provide guidance to HCPs on supporting caregivers during resuscitation. The caregivers’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences can enrich understanding of parental supporters during pediatric resuscitation.