Negotiating Care in the Special Care Nursery: Parents' and Nurses' Perceptions of Nurse–Parent Communication 1 (original) (raw)
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Iranian Journal of Neonatology IJN, 2015
Background: Infants are regarded as a vulnerable group in need of nursing care, particularly during NICU admission. Parents of these infants often experience emotional, psychological and physical upheavals. Therefore, nurses can be of great help to the parents and facilitate a healthy transition from this period. Improper communication with parents, who seek information on their infant’s condition, intensifies their stress, fear and misunderstanding. In fact, inadequate communication with healthcare providers and lack of family support are major issues for the parents of NICU-admitted infants. Methods: In this qualitative study, via content analysis, we objectively selected and collected data from parents, physicians and nurses, residing in Isfahan, Iran in 2012. Data saturation was reached after conducting 25 in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Results: Based on the findings, five major categories were extracted: 1) care provision in NICUs; 2) diagnostic difficulties; 3) NICU adm...
Effective nurse parent communication: A study of parents’ perceptions in the NICU environment
Patient Education and Counseling, 2007
Objective: This study examined mothers' and fathers' perceptions of effective and ineffective communication by nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environment, using Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) as the framework. Methods: 20 mothers and 13 fathers participated in a semi-structured interview about their perceptions of effective and ineffective communication with nurses when their infant was in the NICU. The interviews were coded for using the CAT strategies. Results: Descriptions of effective and ineffective communication differed in terms of the strategies mentioned with effective communication about shared management of the interaction and appropriate support and reassurance by nurses. Ineffective communication was more about the interpretability strategy, particularly for fathers, and these interactions were seen as more intergroup. Mothers emphasised more being encouraged as equal partners in the care of their infant.
The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to describe student nurse experiences in caring for parents of premature infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Twelve senior student nurses who completed their NICU clinical practice participated in the study. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions used along with audio-taped recordings. After each interview, the tape was transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The results revealed that supporting parental care was the main category to describe the student nurse experiences in the NICU. This main category consisted of three generie categories and thisteen sub-categories. Three generic categories were encouraging parental visits, promoting parental care, and supporting parents emotionally. Among thirteen sub-categories, five sub-categories described encouraging parental visits, two subcategories described supporting parents emotionally, and the rest delineated promoting parental care. In conclusion, supporting parental care during infant hospitalization is an important role of neonatal nurses in the NICU. These student experiences can be used to guide the pediatric clinical practice course design to train student nurses to support parents of premature infants during hospitalization. This is even more important when parental care delivery is restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strengths and weaknesses of parent–staff communication in the NICU: a survey assessment
BMC Pediatrics, 2013
Background: Parents of infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) find themselves in a situation of emotional strain. Communication in the NICU presents special challenges due to parental stress and the complexity of the highly technologized environment. Parents' need for communication may not always be met by the NICU staff. This study aimed to describe strengths and weaknesses of parent-nurse and parent-doctor communication in a large level III NICU in Sweden in order to improve our understanding of parents' communication needs. Methods: Parents were asked to complete a survey consisting of sixteen questions about their experiences of communication with nurses and doctors in the NICU. In each question the parents evaluated some aspect of communication on a five-or six-point Likert scale. They also had the opportunity on each question to comment on their experiences in their own words. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 and qualitative manifest content analysis. Results: 270 parents (71.4%) completed the survey. Parents generally rated communication with the staff in the NICU positively and appreciated having received emotional support and regular information about their child´s care. Although a large majority of the parents were satisfied with their communication with doctors and nurses, only about half of the parents felt the nurses and doctors understood their emotional situation very well. Some parents would have desired easier access to conversations with doctors and wanted medical information to be given directly by doctors rather than by nurses. Parents' communication with the staff was hampered when many different nurses were involved in caring for the infant or when the transfer of information in connection with shift changes or between the maternity ward and NICU was poor. Parents also desired to be present during doctors' rounds on their infant. Conclusions: Training both doctors and nurses in communication skills, especially in how to meet parents' emotional needs better, could make communication at the NICU more effective and improve parental well-being. Creating a framework for the parents of what to expect from NICU communication might also be helpful. In addition, our results support the use of primary nurse teams to improve continuity of care and thereby promote successful communication.
Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2014
Aims and objectives. To evaluate and adjust systematic implementation of guided family-centred care in a neonatal intensive care unit. Background. Family-centred care is valued in neonatal intensive care units internationally, but innovative strategies are needed to realise the principles. Guided family-centred care was developed to facilitate person-centred communication by bridging the gap between theory and practice in family-centred care. Main mechanisms of guided family-centred care are structured dialogue, reflection and person-centred communication.
Early Human Development, 2020
Background. To determine parents' experiences on a neonatal unit in a low-income country, how they and staff perceive the role of parents and if parent's role as primary carers could be extended. Methods. Qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews with 12 parents and 16 staff. Results. Parental themes were around their general impression, stress and discharge. They were satis ed with their baby's care but feared their baby may die. Mothers were stressed from need to remain in the hospital throughout baby's stay, to provide feeds day and night, comfort and clean their baby, and provide constant kangaroo mother care before discharge. They experienced loneliness from lack of visitors, di culty nding food and somewhere to sleep, nancial worries and concern about family and home. Mothers were desperate to be discharged. Staff were preoccupied with shortage of nurses limiting care provision and restricting their ability to educate parents as inpatients and after discharge and to provide follow-up, and their constant presence. Neither thought parent's role could be extended. Conclusion. Staff and parent perceptions on improving parent's experience differed. Staff thought that the solution was increasing nurse numbers to improve care and educate parents, but is unlikely in near future. Parents were severely stressed by psychosocial concerns and practical issues around hospitalization. Our identi cation of parental concerns suggests greatest potential for improving their stay on the neonatal unit may be from psychosocial support, potentially from experienced mothers, mothers' groups, allied health professionals and community health workers and from improved facilities, particularly providing food and accommodation.
Perceptions and Practices of Parents in Caring for their Hospitalized Preterm Infants
Pacific Rim international journal of nursing research, 2017
Hospitalized preterm infants are separated from parents in many countries, including Thailand, neonatal care has promoted parental involvement in caring for their infants to support breastfeeding and parent-infant bonding. This descriptive qualitative approach aimed to gain a better understanding of Thai parental involvement in caring for hospitalized preterm infants. Purposive sampling was used to select 22 parents, two grandmothers, and three nurses at a sick newborn unit of a regional hospital in Eastern Thailand. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation and clinical document reviews, from September 2014 to October 2015. The data were analyzed by using a thematic analysis. The findings revealed parents’ perceptions and caregiving practices regarding their involvement in caring for hospitalized preterm infants that could be categorized into five categories, 1) uncertainty about their child’s condition, 2) desire to be close to their preterm babies,...