This study explored children's perceptions about the quality of nursing care and the determinants of their evaluations according to different categories of children's ages.

Multicenter cross-sectional study carried out on 692 pediatric patients in eight large Italian regional hospitals.

We used a validated questionnaire, translated and adapted to the Italian context, consisting of 49 items (5-point Likert scale) exploring nurse characteristics, nursing activities, and nursing environment.

The mean score of children's perceptions of their overall experience of hospitalization was 3.96; the nurse characteristics factor obtained the highest score (mean = 3.79), and it was in positive correlation with the satisfaction level across different age categories: 4 to 6 years, β = .37; 7 to 11 years, β = .31; and 12 to 14 years, β = .32.

Nurse characteristics is the only significant factor contributing to children's satisfaction across the three different age categories.

In pediatric nursing care, it is important to emphasize that nurses' personal characteristics and the ability to connect with children are essential compared to the ability to perform tasks.

© 2018 Sigma Theta Tau International.