Family Use of Remote Infant Viewing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Patient Room Type

When to err is inhuman: An examination of the influence of artificial intelligence-driven nursing care on patient safety

Artificial intelligence, as a nonhuman entity, is increasingly used to inform, direct, or supplant nursing care and clinical decision-making. The boundaries between human- and nonhuman-driven nursing care are blurred with the advent of sensors, wearables, camera devices, and humanoid robots at such an accelerated pace that the critical evaluation of its influence on patient safety has not been fully assessed. Since the pivotal release of To Err is Human, patient safety is being challenged by the dynamic healthcare environment like never before, with nursing at a critical juncture to steer the course of artificial intelligence integration in clinical decision-making. This paper presents an overview of artificial intelligence and its application in healthcare and highlights the implications which affect nursing as a profession, including perspectives on nursing education and training recommendations. The legal and policy challenges which emerge when artificial intelligence influences the risk of clinical errors and safety issues are discussed.

Sociodemographic factors and family use of remote infant viewing in neonatal intensive care

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine whether the use of remote infant viewing (RIV) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) differed based on maternal sociodemographic factors.

METHODS

The number of RIV camera views and view duration were obtained for NICU patients between 10/01/2019 and 3/31/2021 and standardized relative to patient days. Maternal sociodemographic and neonatal characteristics were obtained from institutional databases.

RESULTS

Families in which mothers were unmarried (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.03-1.95), did not require an interpreter (aOR 2.86, 95% CI 1.54-5.32), were multiparous (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.16-2.10), delivered prior to 37 weeks' gestation (aOR 1.57, 95% CI 1.17-2.12), or resided ≥50 miles from the NICU (aOR 1.38, 95% CI 1.02-1.87) were significantly more likely to use RIV.

CONCLUSION

Family use of RIV in the NICU varied by multiple sociodemographic factors. Further investigation to understand and to address potential equity gaps revealed or created by RIV are warranted.

Neonatal Pictures in a NICU as a Mode of Nursing Intervention to Enhance Parent-Infant Bonding: Parents' Experience during the COVID Pandemic

INTRODUCTION

Neonatal departments around the world have changed their policies to prevent the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The birth of an extremely premature baby can disrupt physical contact between the mother/parent and the baby. This situation affects the bonding process between mother and child. The aim of the study was to investigate the opinions of parents who receive photographs or videos of their children electronically on the usefulness of this intervention, as well as the emotional reaction of parents to the photos or videos received, and potential ways to improve the intervention.

METHODS

The study used a qualitative approach and relied on phenomenology, which is a research method used to study experience as experienced from the subjective point of view. Pilot interviews were conducted in January and February 2021, and the final study ran from March to June 2021.

RESULTS

The uploaded photographs and videos provided a useful communication tool. The parents' emotions at the proposal to send photographs of the child and while viewing the first photographs were strong and marked by considerable ambivalence.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed how important it is to ensure communication between the parent and the medical staff. Despite the positive reception, in the future obtaining consent from the legal guardian for taking pictures should be considered, whether this form will be accepted, and to ensure the presence of medical staff while the parent is watching the photographs/videos, as this method of communication will not fully ensure direct skin-to-skin contact to build bonds between the parent and the infant. Neonatal intensive care units need to find strategies to mitigate the impact of separation on parental experiences and bonds should a similar situation arise in the future.