Family-Centered Care and Outcomes of Child Flourishing and Family Resilience and Connection
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
- 2Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
- 3Department of Pediatrics, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California
- 4Department of Pediatrics, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
Abstract
Importance: Family-centered care is an approach to pediatric health care that recognizes the essential role of the family in ensuring child health and well-being, seeks to establish collaborative partnerships among the child, family, and health care team, and provides a framework for implementing trauma-informed care. However, the association between receiving family-centered care and key measures of child and family well-being, including among families with a history of trauma and adversity, is unknown.
Objectives: To examine associations between family-centered care and child flourishing and family resilience and connection among US children and to assess whether associations differ by the child’s history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used 2021 to 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health data from children aged 6 to 17 years. Analyses were conducted in September to December 2025.
Exposure: Caregiver report of receipt of family-centered care by the child’s physician or other health care practitioners in the past 12 months.
Main Outcomes and Measures: Child flourishing and family resilience and connection based on caregiver response to established measures.
Results: This study assessed 110 984 children (mean [SD] age, 11.5 [0.02], years; 57 302 [51.0%] male and 53 682 [49.0%] female) who had a health care visit in the past 12 months. Adjusted for potential confounders, the prevalence of child flourishing was 8.6 percentage points higher (prevalence difference [PD], 0.086; 95% CI, 0.072-0.101), and the prevalence of family resilience and connection was 8.2 percentage points higher (PD, 0.082; 95% CI, 0.069-0.096) for those who received family-centered care compared with those who did not. Among children with and without ACEs, the prevalence of child flourishing (with ACES: PD, 0.112; 95% CI, 0.089-0.132; without ACEs: PD, 0.068; 95% CI, 0.049-0.087) and family resilience and connection (with ACEs: PD, 0.105; 95% CI, 0.085-0.125; without ACEs: PD, 0.0563; 95% CI, 0.043-0.081) was higher for those who received family-centered care compared with those who did not, with larger estimates among children with ACEs than children without ACEs.
Conclusions and Relevance: Results from this cross-sectional study found that family-centered care was associated with a higher prevalence of child flourishing and family resilience and connection, particularly among those with a history of adversity. These results suggest that family-centered care offers a practical and measurable way for health care professionals to promote well-being for all children and families but particularly for children with a history of ACEs.
Related
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- Association of childhood experiences with wellbeing and flourishing outcomes in Indian adults: Evidence from the India Sample of the Global Flourishing Study (GFS)
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BibTeX
@article{austin2026familycentered,
title = {{Family-Centered Care and Outcomes of Child Flourishing and Family Resilience and Connection}},
author = {Anna E. Austin and Christine K. Thang and Sasha S. Svendsen},
journal = {JAMA Network Open},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31265},
url = {https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2854834},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Family-Centered Care and Outcomes of Child Flourishing and Family Resilience and Connection
AU - Anna E. Austin
AU - Christine K. Thang
AU - Sasha S. Svendsen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - JAMA Network Open
DO - 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31265
UR - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2854834
AB - Importance: Family-centered care is an approach to pediatric health care that recognizes the essential role of the family in ensuring child health and well-being, seeks to establish collaborative partnerships among the child, family, and health care team, and provides a framework for implementing trauma-informed care. However, the association between receiving family-centered care and key measures of child and family well-being, including among families with a history of trauma and adversity, is unknown. Objectives: To examine associations between family-centered care and child flourishing and family resilience and connection among US children and to assess whether associations differ by the child’s history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used 2021 to 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health data from children aged 6 to 17 years. Analyses were conducted in September to December 2025. Exposure: Caregiver report of receipt of family-centered care by the child’s physician or other health care practitioners in the past 12 months. Main Outcomes and Measures: Child flourishing and family resilience and connection based on caregiver response to established measures. Results: This study assessed 110 984 children (mean [SD] age, 11.5 [0.02], years; 57 302 [51.0%] male and 53 682 [49.0%] female) who had a health care visit in the past 12 months. Adjusted for potential confounders, the prevalence of child flourishing was 8.6 percentage points higher (prevalence difference [PD], 0.086; 95% CI, 0.072-0.101), and the prevalence of family resilience and connection was 8.2 percentage points higher (PD, 0.082; 95% CI, 0.069-0.096) for those who received family-centered care compared with those who did not. Among children with and without ACEs, the prevalence of child flourishing (with ACES: PD, 0.112; 95% CI, 0.089-0.132; without ACEs: PD, 0.068; 95% CI, 0.049-0.087) and family resilience and connection (with ACEs: PD, 0.105; 95% CI, 0.085-0.125; without ACEs: PD, 0.0563; 95% CI, 0.043-0.081) was higher for those who received family-centered care compared with those who did not, with larger estimates among children with ACEs than children without ACEs. Conclusions and Relevance: Results from this cross-sectional study found that family-centered care was associated with a higher prevalence of child flourishing and family resilience and connection, particularly among those with a history of adversity. These results suggest that family-centered care offers a practical and measurable way for health care professionals to promote well-being for all children and families but particularly for children with a history of ACEs.
SN - 2574-3805
ER -