Higher Israeli Solidarity Among Arab Parents of Hospitalized Children

The study, which was conducted by Rodiana Badir, a doctoral student and teacher in the Educational Center at Schneider Children’s, was presented at a joint conference organized by the Oranim College, Beit Berl Academic College and Rhode Island College on the topic of Intercultural Containment in the Educational and Social Frameworks.

The study aimed to examine the degree by which the experience of interaction within a hospital has on the increase of Arab and Israeli solidarity of parents from the Arab community whose child is hospitalized. Participants included 62 Arab parents of hospitalized children with a control group of 32 Arab parents of non-hospitalized children. All the parents of hospitalized children filled in questionnaires at the onset and at the end of their child’s hospitalization, while the control group filled in similar questionnaires.

The length of treatment was significant in terms of parental solidarity. The connection between the hospitalization experience, satisfaction and Israeli solidarity was also underscored, as was the importance of  intercultural dialogue in the educational setting for hospitalized children and their families and the need for understanding the unique needs of each nationality.

Schneider Children’s is an advanced and modern medical center whose foundation stone is to serve as a bridge to peace and treat all children irrespective of race, religion or nationality. As part of this worldview, medical teams in the hospital speak many languages while all hospital signage is in three languages: Hebrew, English and Arabic. Schneider Children’s treats many children from various countries in the world seeking medical care.