Each nurse applied the RBC model through the treatment "Take 5 minutes" (T5M), to parents allocated to the experimental group. This consisted in devoting some time (from 5 to 10 minutes) to improving the relationship with the parent. This treatment can be considered as the practical development of the core principles of the RBC model by the study team.

During the T5M the nurse applied the strategies of empathic communication and active listening, learned during the education and training phase. The treatment lasted from 5 to 10 minutes and was delivered once per day during the admission of the patient.

The T5M time was considered as additional or supplementary, but not substitutive, of the standard nursing time dedicated daily to patients and parents.

Standard nursing time dedicated daily to patients and parents.

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) has been used to determine the anxiety and depression of the parents of hospitalized children. HADS is a fourteen items scale (seven items related to anxiety and seven to depression): each item on the questionnaire is scored from 0-3 and this means that a person can score between 0 and 21 for either anxiety or depression. A cut-off point of 8/21 for anxiety or depression has been previously established in the literature.

The Caring Behaviors Inventory (CBI) was used to assess the quality of nursing care perceived by the parents. CBI has 24-items, divided into four dimensions: presence, compliance, competence, and care; each item is a Likert-scale ranging from 0 to 4.