Comparison of family centered care with family integrated care and mobile technology (mFICare) on preterm infant and family outcomes: a multi-site quasi-experimental clinical trial protocol

Mobile-enhanced Family Integrated Care for preterm infants: A qualitative study of parents' views

Objective

The Family Integrated Care (FICare) model improves outcomes for preterm infants and parents compared with family-centered care (FCC). FICare with mobile technology (mFICare) may improve uptake and impact. Research on FICare in the United States (US) is scarce and little is known about parents' experience.

Methods

We conducted qualitative interviews with nine parents, exploring their NICU experiences, participation in and perceptions of the mFICare program. A directed content analysis approach was used, and common themes were derived from the data.

Results

Overall, parents had positive NICU experiences and found mFICare helpful in meeting three common parenting priorities: actively caring for their infant, learning how to care for their infant, and learning about the clinical status of their infant. They described alignment and misalignment with mFICare components relative to their personal parenting priorities and offered suggestions for improvement. Nurses were noted to play key roles in providing or facilitating parent support and encouragement to participate in mFICare and parenting activities.

Conclusion

The mFICare program showed potential for parental acceptance and participation in US NICUs.

Innovation

The mFICare model is an innovation in neonatal care that can advance the consistent delivery of NICU family-centered care planning and caregiving.Clinical Trial Registration:NCT03418870 01/02/2018.

Perceived barriers of family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Family-centered care (FCC) approach in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has been shown to improve family satisfaction and quality of care. However, several contextual barriers influence its use in NICUs, and these barriers are understudied in Ghana.

AIM

To describe FCC practice in Ghanaian NICUs in order to understand the contextual barriers.

STUDY DESIGN

The study employed a descriptive qualitative design. The researchers used a structured interview guide to collect the data in 24 interviews and 12 focus group discussions. We engaged families (n = 42), nurses and midwives (n = 33), and doctors (n = 9) to describe their perspectives on the barriers to FCC in two public tertiary hospital NICUs. The data were mapped, triangulated, and aggregated to inform the findings. Thematic analysis and MAXQDA qualitative software version 2020 were employed to analyse the data. This qualitative study followed the COREQ guidelines and checklist.

RESULTS

Perceived family barriers and perceived facility barriers to FCC were the two main themes. The perceived family barriers include family stress and anxiety, inadequate information sharing and education, culture and religion. The perceived facility barriers are inadequate space and logistics, workload and inadequate staff, restricted entry, and negative staff attitudes.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study shed light on the barriers to FCC practice in neonatal care in Ghanaian NICUs. Family stress and anxiety, a lack of information sharing, cultures and religious beliefs, NICU workload and staffing shortages, restrictions on family entry into NICUs, and staff attitudes towards families are all contextual barriers to FCC practice.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Health facility managers and NICU staff may consider addressing these barriers to implement FCC in the NICU in order to enhance family satisfaction and quality neonatal care. The design of future NICUs should consider family comfort zones and subunits to accommodate families and their sick infants for optimal health care outcomes. The development of communication models and guidelines for respectful NICU care may aid in integrating families into ICUs and promoting quality health care outcomes.

Facilitators and constraints to family integrated care in low-resource settings informed the adaptation in Uganda

AIM

Family Integrated Care (FICare) was developed in high-income countries and has not been tested in resource-poor settings. We aimed to identify the facilitators and constraints that informed the adaptation of FICare to a neonatal hospital unit in Uganda.

METHODS

Maternal focus groups and healthcare provider interviews were conducted at Uganda's Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in 2020. Transcripts were analysed using inductive content analysis. An adaptation team developed Uganda FICare based on the identified facilitators and constraints.

RESULTS

Participants included 10 mothers (median age 28 years) and eight healthcare providers (seven female, median age 41 years). Reducing healthcare provider workload, improving neonatal outcomes and empowering mothers were identified as facilitators. Maternal stress, maternal difficulties in learning new skills and mistrust of mothers by healthcare providers were cited as constraints. Uganda FICare focused on task-shifting important but neglected patient care tasks from healthcare providers to mothers. Healthcare providers learned how to respond to maternal concerns. Intervention material was adapted to prioritise images over text. Mothers familiar with FICare provided peer-to-peer support to other mothers.

CONCLUSION

Uganda FICare shares the core values of FICare but was adapted to be feasible in low-resource settings.

'Not a goal, but a given': Neonatal care participation through parents' perspective, a cross-sectional study

AIM

To explore parents' perspectives regarding participation in neonatal care, with focus on the family integrated care (FICare) model utilised as a tool to enhance parent-infant closeness. Additionally, we describe experiences in different architectural settings.

METHODS

An online survey, categorised by four FICare pillars, was distributed through social media to parents of newborns hospitalised to Dutch neonatal wards between 2015 and 2020. Quantitative findings were summarised using descriptive statistics, while open-ended responses were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Among the 344 respondents (98% mothers), most reported feeling involved in care (315/340). However, 79% also felt separated from their infant (265/337). Irrespective of architectural settings, parents reported incomplete implementation of FICare pillars: 14% was invited to educational sessions (parent education), 51% discussed family-specific care plans (staff education), 21% was facilitated in connecting with veteran parents (psychosocial support) and 22% received couplet-care (environment). Although 65% of parents were invited to attend clinical rounds, 32% actively participated in decision making. Thematic analysis revealed fundamentals for feeling welcome on the ward, peer-to-peer support, psychosocial support and participation in clinical rounds.

CONCLUSION

Overall, parents expressed satisfaction with participation in neonatal care. However, structural implementation of FICare lacks. Regardless of architecture, expanding parent participation beyond presence requires attention.

Mobile-Enhanced Family-Integrated Care for Preterm Infants: Nurse and Physician Views About Implementation

BACKGROUND

The mobile-enhanced family-integrated care (mFICare) model addresses inconsistencies in family-centered care (FCC) delivery, with an evidence-based bundle of staff training, parent participation in rounds, parent classes, parent peer mentors, expanded role for parents in infant caregiving, and a parent-designed app.

PURPOSE

Our aim was to explore the views of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses and physicians about mFICare implementation, including what worked well and what could be improved.

METHODS

As part of a larger study to compare mFICare with FCC, we invited registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and fellow and attending physicians at the 3 study sites to participate in a survey about mFICare implementation. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The majority of the 182 respondents with experience delivering mFICare positively rated parent-led rounds, parent classes, parent skills acquisition, and the nurse-family relationship resulting from participation in mFICare. Respondents were less familiar or neutral regarding the parent peer mentor and app components of mFICare. Most respondents agreed that the mFICare program improved parent empowerment, and they shared suggestions for optimizing implementation. Physicians experienced more challenges with parent participation in rounds than nurses. Three themes emerged from the free-text data related to emotional support for parents, communication between staff and parents, and the unique experiences of families receiving mFICare.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

The mFICare program was overall acceptable to nurses and physicians, and areas for improvement were identified. With implementation refinement, mFICare can become a sustainable model to enhance delivery of FCC in NICUs.

Maternal mental health after infant discharge: a quasi-experimental clinical trial of family integrated care versus family-centered care for preterm infants in U.S. NICUs

BACKGROUND

Involvement in caregiving and tailored support services may reduce the risk of mental health symptoms for mothers after their preterm infant's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. We aimed to compare Family-Centered Care (FCC) with mobile-enhanced Family-Integrated Care (mFICare) on post-discharge maternal mental health symptoms.

METHOD

This quasi-experimental study enrolled preterm infant (≤ 33 weeks)/parent dyads from three NICUs into sequential cohorts: FCC or mFICare. We analyzed post-discharge symptoms of perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression using intention-to-treat and per protocol approaches.

RESULTS

178 mothers (89 FCC; 89 mFICare) completed measures. We found no main effect of group assignment. We found an interaction between group and stress, indicating fewer PTSD and depression symptoms among mothers who had higher NICU-related stress and received mFICare, compared with mothers who had high stress and received FCC (PTSD: interaction β=-1.18, 95% CI: -2.10, -0.26; depression: interaction β=-0.76, 95% CI: -1.53, 0.006). Per protocol analyses of mFICare components suggested fewer PTSD and depression symptoms among mothers who had higher NICU stress scores and participated in clinical team rounds and/or group classes, compared with mothers who had high stress and did not participate in rounds or classes.

CONCLUSION

Overall, post-discharge maternal mental health symptoms did not differ between the mFICare and FCC groups. However, for mothers with high levels of stress during the NICU stay, mFICare was associated with fewer post-discharge PTSD and depression symptoms.

Outcome's Classification in Mobile Applications Tailored to Parents of Premature Infants: A Systematic Review

Background

Integration of healthcare services for preterm neonates at home and hospital by mobile technology is an economical and convenient intervention, which is being increasingly applied worldwide. We aimed to classify the outcomes of mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants.

Methods

This systematic review was conducted by searching the six main databases until May 2021. Mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants and the reported outcomes of this technology were identified and classified. Quality of screened articles checked by MMAT tool.

Results

Overall, 10703 articles were retrieved, and after eliminating the duplicated articles, 9 articles were reviewed ultimately. Identified outcomes were categorized into three groups parental, application, and neonatal outcomes. In the parental outcomes, maternal stress/stress coping, parenting self-efficacy, satisfaction, anxiety, partnership advocacy/improved parent-infant relationship, feeling of being safe, reassurance and confidence, increase awareness, as well as discharge preparedness, were identified. In the application outcomes, application usage, ease of use/user-friendly, and usability of the designed application were placed. Finally, the neonatal outcomes include health and clinical items.

Conclusion

Mobile applications can be useful in prematurity for educating pregnant mothers, managing stress and anxiety, supporting families, and preparing for discharge. Moreover, due to the coronavirus condition, providing remote services for parents is an appropriate solution to reduce the in-person visits to neonatal care centers. Development of tailored apps can promote the neonates' health and reduce their parents' stress.

Relationship between social support and post-discharge mental health symptoms in mothers of preterm infants

BACKGROUND

Social support is associated with decreased symptoms of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) in mothers of healthy infants, but less is known about social support and PMADs in mothers with preterm infants. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social support and symptoms of PMADs reported by mothers in the months following hospital discharge of their preterm infant.

METHODS

Mothers of infants less than 33 weeks gestational age were enrolled from neonatal intensive care units (NICU) at 6 sites. Mothers completed PMAD measures of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress approximately 3 months following their infant's discharge. Multivariable regression was used to evaluate relationships between social support and PMAD measures.

RESULTS

Of 129 mothers, 1 in 5 reported clinically significant PMAD symptoms of: depression (24%), anxiety (19%), and post-traumatic stress (20%). Social support was strongly inversely associated with all 3 PMADs. Social support explained between 21% and 26% of the variance in depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Increased social support may buffer PMAD symptoms in mothers of preterm infants after discharge. Research is needed to determine effective screening and interventions aimed at promoting social support for all parents during and following their infant's hospitalisation.

Concepts of family-centered care at the neonatal and paediatric intensive care unit: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Understanding family-centred care (FCC) concepts is critical for its implementation in any context. The researchers synthesised studies on FCC in neonatal and paediatric critical care units in order to present its concepts and gaps in the literature to guide further research in the area.

METHOD

The study used the JBI methodology, and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines confirmed the final report. The search for material, with the use of library sources, used Medline via PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Wiley Library online for papers published in English from 2015 to 2019 and updated to 2023.

RESULTS

From 904 references, 61 studies were identified for inclusion. The majority of the studies (29; 55.77%) were qualitative ethnography and phenomenology. Four themes and ten subthemes emerged from the data to support the main concepts of FCC.

CONCLUSION

To guide its useful integration and implementation, more research on family-centred care in neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, involving families, staff, and managers, should be undertaken.

PRACTICE IMPLICATION

Findings presented in this review may provide a guide for nurses to adjust nursing interventions for critically ill neonates and children in intensive care units.

Family Integrated Care in Uganda: a feasibility study

OBJECTIVE

To determine the feasibility of adapting Family Integrated Care to a neonatal hospital unit in a low-income country.

DESIGN

Single-centre, pre/post-pilot study of an adapted Family Integrated Care programme in Uganda (UFICare).

SETTING

Special Care Nursery at a Ugandan hospital.

PATIENTS

Singleton, inborn neonates with birth weight ≥2 kg.

INTERVENTIONS

As part of UFICare, mothers weighed their infant daily, assessed for severe illness ('danger signs') twice daily and tracked feeds.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Feasibility outcomes included maternal proficiency and completion of monitoring tasks. Secondary outcomes included maternal stress, discharge readiness and post-discharge healthcare seeking.

RESULTS

Fifty-three mother-infant dyads and 51 mother-infant dyads were included in the baseline and intervention groups, respectively. Most mothers were proficient in the tasks 2-4 days after training (weigh 43 of 51; assess danger signs 49 of 51; track feeds 49 of 51). Mothers documented their danger sign assessments 82% (IQR 71-100) of the expected times and documented feeds 83% (IQR 71-100) of hospital days. In the baseline group, nurses weighed babies 29% (IQR 18-50) of hospitalised days, while UFICare mothers weighed their babies 71% (IQR 57-80) of hospitalised days (p<0.001). UFICare mothers had higher Readiness for Discharge scores compared with the baseline group (baseline 6.8; UFICare 7.9; p<0.001). There was no difference in maternal stress scores or post-discharge healthcare seeking.

CONCLUSIONS

Ugandan mothers can collaborate in the medical care of their hospitalised infant. By performing tasks identified as important for infant care, mothers felt more prepared to care for their infant at discharge.

Evaluation of parental stress in neonatal intensive care unit in Iran: a national study

BACKGROUND

More attention is paid to the survival and treatment of the sick infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and parental stress is not considered. The purpose of this study was to determine samples of the level of parental stress in the NICU.

METHOD

This study is a descriptive-analytical study in which Parental Stress and General Health were used in an analytical national survey in Iran. The research sample consists of 2456 parents of infants admitted to NICU. The sampling method was multi-stage random. We used 11- item parental stress questionnaire and 28-item general health questionnaire for the data collection.

RESULT

Baloch ethnicity with an average of 11.52 had the highest level of stress. The mean stress score of mothers was higher than fathers. The mean score of all dimensions of physical symptoms, anxiety, social functioning, depression, and total mental health score in mothers was higher than fathers. There was a statistically significant difference in the length of hospitalization in terms of different levels of parental stress scores (p < 0.002). Lack of decisive response to parents was one of the most stressful issues (8.1%).

CONCLUSION

Our result shows mothers' stress was higher than fathers. So that health policymakers should pay attention to stress risk factors to provide appropriate interventions according stress risk factors Future studies should design appropriate interventions to reduce parental stress, especially in high-risk mothers.

Implementing modified family integrated care in a U.S. neonatal intensive care unit: nursing perspectives and effects on parents

OBJECTIVES

(1) Assess effects of a modified Family Integrated Care (FICare) model on U.S. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) parents; (2) Evaluate NICU nurses' perspectives.

DESIGN

Case -control design with parental stress assessed before and after NICU-wide FICare implementation using Parent Stressor Scale: NICU (PSS:NICU) questionnaire. In addition, stratification by degree of participation evaluated associations with parental stress, parental-staff communication and discharge readiness. Questionnaires captured nursing perspectives on FICare.

RESULTS

79 parents (88%) participated prior to FICare; 90 (90%) after. Parent stress was lower (p < 0.001) with FICare. Parents learning 5-15 infant-care skills had lower stress compared to those learning <5 (p = 0.008). Parent utilization of an educational app was associated with improved communication frequency (p = 0.007) and quality (p = 0.012). Bedside NICU nurses reported multiple positive associations of FICare for parents and staff.

CONCLUSIONS

Any degree of FICare participation decreases parental stress; increased participation has multiple positive associations.

Parent Readiness for Their Preterm Infant's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Discharge

This study aims to examine the influence of hospital experience factors on parental discharge readiness, accounting for key background characteristics. Parents/guardians of infants 33 weeks of gestation or less at birth receiving neonatal intensive care at 6 sites were enrolled from April 2017 to August 2018. Participants completed surveys at enrollment, 3 weeks later, and at discharge. Multiple regression analysis assessed relationships between parental experience, well-being, and perceived readiness for infant discharge, adjusting for socioenvironmental, infant clinical, and parent demographic characteristics. Most (77%) of the 139 parents reported high levels of readiness for their infant's discharge and 92% reported high self-efficacy at discharge. The multiple regression model accounted for 40% of the variance in discharge readiness. Perceptions of family-centered care accounted for 12% of the variance; measures of parent well-being, anxiety, and parenting self-efficacy accounted for an additional 16% of the variance; parent characteristics accounted for an additional 9%; and infant characteristics accounted for less than 3% of the variance. Parental perceptions of the family-centeredness of the hospital experience, anxiety, and parenting self-efficacy accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in readiness for discharge scores among parents of preterm infant. These influential perceptions are potentially modifiable by nursing-led interventions.

Effectiveness of parental education about pain in the neonatal period on knowledge, attitudes, and practices: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Despite the availability of effective, safe, and feasible pain management strategies, infant pain remains undertreated. Parents can play a key role in advocating for or delivering pain management strategies if they are educated. To date, a quantitative synthesis of the effectiveness of parental education about pain management in the neonatal period has not been performed.

Objective

To systematically review the effectiveness of parental education during the neonatal period on pain management in infancy.

Methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized trials (NRTs) that evaluated parental education with respect to pain management during the neonatal period in any setting from inception to February 2021. Screening of article titles and abstracts and data extraction were performed in duplicate. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk Bias Tool 2.0 and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions for RCTs and NRTs, respectively. As per the GRADE methodology, critically important and important outcomes were identified. Critically important outcomes included utilization of pain management strategies and infant pain. Important outcomes included parental knowledge about pain mitigation strategies, parental attitudes, compliance with painful procedures, procedure outcomes, and safety. Data were combined and presented as relative risk (RR) or mean or standardized mean difference (MD or SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

Of the six studies eligible for inclusion, four studies were RCTs and two studies were NRTs. Written information and/or video were used to deliver parental education during the neonatal period in hospital settings in all studies. Four studies (two RCTs and two NRTs) reported on critically important outcomes. The risk of bias was low for the two RCTs and moderate to serious for the two NRTs. Utilization of pain management strategies was assessed for heel lance in the first 48 hours of life in two studies and for vaccine injection at 2 to 6 months of life in two studies. Higher utilization rate for pain management strategies was reported in the pain education group in three studies (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04, 1.26; N=2712). There was no difference in the mean number of pain management strategies used in one NRT tracking utilization tracking utilization as continuous data (MD 0.20, 95% CI -0.01, 0.41; N=178). Parent-reported infant pain scores were lower in the pain education group in one RCT (MD -0.16, 95% CI -0.27, -0.06; N=1615). The quality of evidence for the outcome of utilization of pain management strategies was very low while for the outcome of infant pain the quality of evidence was moderate. Five studies (3 RCTs and 2 NRTs) reported on important outcomes. The risk of bias was low for two RCTs and high for one RCT and moderate to serious for the two NRTs. Parental knowledge about pain management strategies (SMD 0.54, 95% CI 0.26, 0.82), parental confidence in their ability to manage pain (SMD 0.24, 95% CI 0.14, 0.34), parental satisfaction with education (MD 1.18, 95% CI 0.84, 1.52) and parental satisfaction with pain management (RR 1.05. 95% CI 1.01, 1.08) were increased in the pain education group. None of the included studies reported on procedural outcomes. No adverse events with the pain education nor the use of pain management interventions were reported in one study.

Conclusions

Parental education in the neonatal period was effective in increasing utilization of pain management strategies during painful procedures. Reduction of pain in infants is based on one study of moderate quality. Furthermore, parental education increased parental knowledge about pain management strategies, confidence in their ability to manage infant pain, and satisfaction with the education and pain management. Parental pain education should be incorporated into postnatal care.

Neonatal outcomes from a quasi-experimental clinical trial of Family Integrated Care versus Family-Centered Care for preterm infants in U.S. NICUs

BACKGROUND

Family Integrated Care (FICare) benefits preterm infants compared with Family-Centered Care (FCC), but research is lacking in United States (US) Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The outcomes for infants of implementing FICare in the US are unknown given differences in parental leave benefits and health care delivery between the US and other countries where FICare is used. We compared preterm weight and discharge outcomes between FCC and mobile-enhanced FICare (mFICare) in the US.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study, we enrolled preterm infant (≤ 33 weeks)/parent dyads from 3 NICUs into sequential cohorts: FCC or mFICare. Our primary outcome was 21-day change in weight z-scores. Our secondary outcomes were nosocomial infection, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and human milk feeding (HMF) at discharge. We used intention-to-treat analyses to examine the effect of the FCC and mFICare models overall and per protocol analyses to examine the effects of the mFICare intervention components.

FINDINGS

253 infant/parent dyads participated (141 FCC; 112 mFICare). There were no parent-related adverse events in either group. In intention-to-treat analyses, we found no group differences in weight, ROP, BPD or HMF. The FCC cohort had 2.6-times (95% CI: 1.0, 6.7) higher odds of nosocomial infection than the mFICare cohort. In per-protocol analyses, we found that infants whose parents did not receive parent mentoring or participate in rounds lost more weight relative to age-based norms (group-difference=-0.128, CI: -0.227, -0.030; group-difference=-0.084, CI: -0.154, -0.015, respectively). Infants whose parents did not participate in rounds or group education had 2.9-times (CI: 1.0, 9.1) and 3.8-times (CI: 1.2, 14.3) higher odds of nosocomial infection, respectively.

CONCLUSION

We found indications that mFICare may have direct benefits on infant outcomes such as weight gain and nosocomial infection. Future studies using implementation science designs are needed to optimize intervention delivery and determine acute and long-term infant and family outcomes.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT03418870 01/02/2018.

The Role of Music Therapy with Infants with Perinatal Brain Injury

Perinatal brain injury occurs in 5.14/1000 live births in England. A significant proportion of these injuries result from hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) in term infants and intracranial haemorrhage (IVH) or periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in preterm infants. Standardised care necessitates minimal handling from parents and professionals to reduce the progression of injury. This can potentially increase parental stress through the physical inability to bond with their baby. Recent research highlights the ability of music therapy (MT) to empower parental bonding without handling, through sharing culturally informed personal music with their infant. This review therefore aimed to systematically evaluate the use of MT with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Search terms were combined into three categories (audio stimulation (MT), population (neonates) and condition (brain injury), and eight electronic databases were used to identify relevant studies following PRISMA guidelines. Eleven studies using music or vocal stimulation with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury were identified and quality assessed using Cochrane ROB2, the ROBINSI Tool and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Studies used either voice as live (n = 6) or pre-recorded (n = 3) interventions or pre-recorded instrumental music (n = 2). Studies had two primary areas of focus: developmental outcomes and physiological effects. Results suggested the use of music interventions led to a reduction of infants' pain scores during procedures and cardiorespiratory events, improved feeding ability (increase oral feeding rate, volume intake and feeds per day) and resulted in larger amygdala volumes than control groups. Additionally, MT intervention on the unit supported long-term hospitalised infants in the acquisition of developmental milestones. Vocal soothing was perceived to be an accessible intervention for parents. However, infants with PVL showed signs of stress in complex interventions, which also potentially resulted in an increase in maternal anxiety in one study. MT with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury can have positive effects on infants' behavioural and neurological parameters and support parental involvement in their infants' developmental care. Further feasibility studies are required using MT to determine appropriate outcome measures for infants and the support required for parents to allow future comparison in large-scale randomised control trials.

The Effect of Size and Asymmetry at Birth on Brain Injury and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Congenital Heart Disease

Poor and asymmetric fetal growth have been associated with neonatal brain injury (BI) and worse neurodevelopmental outcomes (NDO) in the growth-restricted population due to placental insufficiency. We tested the hypothesis that postnatal markers of fetal growth (birthweight (BW), head circumference (HC), and head to body symmetry) are associated with preoperative white matter injury (WMI) and NDO in infants with single ventricle physiology (SVP) and d-transposition of great arteries (TGA). 173 term newborns (106 TGA; 67 SVP) at two sites had pre-operative brain MRI to assess for WMI and measures of microstructural brain development. NDO was assessed at 30 months with the Bayley Scale of Infant Development-II (n = 69). We tested the association between growth parameters at birth with the primary outcome of WMI on the pre-operative brain MRI. Secondary outcomes included measures of NDO. Newborns with TGA were more likely to have growth asymmetry with smaller heads relative to weight while SVP newborns were symmetrically small. There was no association between BW, HC or asymmetry and WMI on preoperative brain MRI or with measures of microstructural brain development. Similarly, growth parameters at birth were not associated with NDO at 30 months. In a multivariable model only cardiac lesion and site were associated with NDO. Unlike other high-risk infant populations, postnatal markers of fetal growth including head to body asymmetry that is common in TGA is not associated with brain injury or NDO. Lesion type appears to play a more important role in NDO in CHD.

Awareness and agreement with neurofibromatosis care guidelines among U.S. neurofibromatosis specialists

Introduction

The neurofibromatoses (NF) are a group of rare, genetic diseases sharing a predisposition to develop multiple benign nervous system tumors. Given the wide range of NF symptoms and medical specialties involved in NF care, we sought to evaluate the level of awareness of, and agreement with, published NF clinical guidelines among NF specialists in the United States.

Methods

An anonymous, cross-sectional, online survey was distributed to U.S.-based NF clinicians. Respondents self-reported demographics, practice characteristics, awareness of seven NF guideline publications, and level of agreement with up to 40 individual recommendations using a 5-point Likert scale. We calculated the proportion of recommendations that each clinician rated “strongly agree”, and assessed for differences in guideline awareness and agreement by respondent characteristics.

Results

Sixty-three clinicians (49% female; 80% academic practice) across > 8 medical specialties completed the survey. Awareness of each guideline publication ranged from 53%-79% of respondents; specialists had higher awareness of publications endorsed by their medical professional organization (p < 0.05). The proportion of respondents who “strongly agree” with individual recommendations ranged from 17%-83%; for 16 guidelines, less than 50% of respondents “strongly agree”. There were no significant differences in overall agreement with recommendations based on clinicians’ gender, race, specialty, years in practice, practice type (academic/private practice/other), practice location (urban/suburban/rural), or involvement in NF research (p > 0.05 for all).

Conclusions

We identified wide variability in both awareness of, and agreement with, published NF care guidelines among NF experts. Future quality improvement efforts should focus on evidence-based, consensus-driven methods to update and disseminate guidelines across this multi-specialty group of providers. Patients and caregivers should also be consulted to proactively anticipate barriers to accessing and implementing guideline-driven care. These recommendations for improving guideline knowledge and adoption may also be useful for other rare diseases requiring multi-specialty care coordination.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-022-02196-x.

Improving Family-Centered Care for Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Recommendations From Frontline Healthcare Professionals

BACKGROUND

Family-centered care is a philosophy and healthcare delivery model adopted by many neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide, yet practice varies widely.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to synthesize recommendations from frontline NICU healthcare professionals regarding family-centered care.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the baseline phase of a multicenter quasi-experimental study comparing usual family-centered NICU care (baseline) with mobile-enhanced family integrated care (intervention). Members of the NICU clinical care team completed a family-centered care survey and provided free-text comments regarding practice of family-centered care in their NICU and recommendations for improvement. The comments were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach by a research team that included NICU nurses and parents.

RESULTS

Of the 382 NICU healthcare providers from 6 NICUs who completed the survey, 68 (18%) provided 89 free-text comments/recommendations about family-centered care. Almost all comments were provided by nurses (91%). Six main themes were identified: language translation; communication between staff and families; staffing and workflow; team culture and leadership; education; and NICU environment. The need for greater resources for staffing, education, and environmental supports was prominent among the comments, as was team culture and staff-parent communications.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The NICU healthcare professionals identified a range of issues that support or impede delivery of family-centered care and provided actionable recommendations for improvement.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

Future research should include economic analyses that will enable determination of the return on investment so that NICUs can better justify the human and capital resources needed to implement high-quality family-centered care.

Improving Care in Neonatal Intensive Units During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey on Electronic Health Communication

BACKGROUND

A novel virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started spreading through Italy and the world from February 2020, and the pandemic threatened the family-centred care (FCC) model used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Teleconferences and video calls were employed to keep parents in contact with their babies. This study aimed to evaluate satisfaction and stress levels between parents in the telematic family-centred care group (T-FCC) versus the FCC group and the no Family-Centred Care (N-FCC) group. Methods A prospective cohort pilot study was carried out from April to May 2020. A parental stressor scale and the NICU satisfaction questionnaire were administered to parents at the time of discharge of their newborns. Parents in T-FCC group could see their newborns via video calls, while those in the FCC and N-FCC groups were extracted from our previously published database. Results Parents in the T-FCC group were more satisfied and less stressed than those in the N-FCC group. Experiences of the mothers and fathers in the T-FCC group were similar. However, the FCC group showed the best results. Conclusion The T-FCC group showed satisfaction with the quality of information received about their babies and felt that their privacy was considered and respected by the medical staff. Parents were also less stressed because they could monitor what happens to the baby through a video, however, they could not intervene if there was a problem. Data support the use of video calls to improve insight into clinical conditions and communication between doctors, nurses, and parents during the pandemic.

What parents want to know about caring for their preterm infant: A longitudinal descriptive study

OBJECTIVES

To describe the characteristics of parent knowledge needs and skill acquisition over the course of their infant's neonatal intensive care unit hospitalization.

METHODS

148 parents/guardians of infants ≤33 week gestation enrolled during the usual care phase of a multi-site quasi-experimental study, completing weekly surveys about their learning needs for the coming week and skills learned in the past week.

RESULTS

The topics of most interest or concern for parents included feeding their infant and their infant's medical course. Knowledge needs varied by phase of hospitalization (early, middle, late) and by parent age, prior parenting experience, infant gestational age and hospital length of stay. The most common skills learned related to feeding and basic infant care. The number of skills parents reported learning each week varied by parent age, gender, and education.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents of preterm infants expressed specific learning needs and acquisition of skills that varied over the course of the hospitalization and by parent and infant characteristics.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The findings can be used to improve parent learning experiences so that they can become full partners in their infant's caregiving and are better prepared to care for their infant after discharge.

STUDY REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, ID NCT03418870.

Implementing Evidence-Informed Discharge Preparedness Tools in the NICU: Parents' Perceptions

BACKGROUND

Few studies address preparing parents of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants for infant discharge. Inadequate or ineffective parental preparedness for discharge can result in preventable emergency department and primary care visits. Parents' perceptions are needed to inform development and implementation of effective educational tools to improve parent discharge preparedness in the NICU.

PURPOSE

To describe the perceptions of parents of recently discharged NICU infants regarding discharge preparedness and implementation of the My Flight Plan for Home parent discharge preparedness tool.

METHODS

We used a qualitative descriptive design to collect individual interview data from 15 parents with infants discharged from a level 4 NICU in the Midwest. Individual interviews were conducted using a semistructured guide and were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using the constant comparative method.

RESULTS

We identified 5 major themes: (1) family dynamics; (2) parenting in the NICU; (3) discharge preparedness; (4) engaging parents in infant care; and (5) implementation recommendations for the My Flight Plan for Home tool. Minor themes supported each of the major themes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

To improve parents' confidence in caring for their infant after discharge, parents suggest nurses must engage parents in discharge education and infant care shortly following NICU admission and use parent-centered discharge preparedness tools.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

Future studies are needed to develop and test parent-tailored strategies for implementing parent discharge preparedness tools in the NICU.

Family Presence Restrictions and Telemedicine Use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

We aimed to describe parental presence policy and telemedicine use in Japanese neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey in 110 level III units from 19 November 2020 to 18 December 2020. Nurses’ evaluation of the current situation (during COVID-19) was compared with their retrospective pre-COVID-19 (December 2019) evaluation. Responses were received from 52 NICUs distributed across all regions in Japan. The median allowed parental presence time decreased from 12 h to 1 h, and 29 NICUs allowed entry of parents simultaneously during COVID-19. There was an increase in the number of units providing telemedicine through telephone and online visits during COVID-19 compared to that before COVID-19 (from 2% to 19%). The hybrid design NICUs, with 11–89% of beds in single-patient rooms, allowed a longer parental presence time in the NICUs than those with ≥90% of beds in multi-bed rooms. The number of units implementing kangaroo care decreased during COVID-19 compared to that before COVID-19. The need for telemedicine increased among Japanese NICUs to mitigate the adverse effect of parental restriction and limited physical contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neonatal nursing during the COVID-19 global pandemic: A thematic analysis of personal reflections

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes and restrictions to neonatal care. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of these changes on neonatal nurses globally.

METHODS

We conducted a thematic analysis on written reflections by neonatal nurses worldwide, exploring their experiences of COVID-19. Twenty-two reflections were analysed from eleven countries.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis revealed 4 main themes relating to the nurses' role: 1) protector 2) challenges to human quality of care 3) vulnerability and 4) resilience. The measures taken as protector were described as compromising the human qualities of care fundamental to their role. This tension, together with other new challenges, heightened feelings of vulnerability. Concurrently, nurses identified role resilience, including resourcefulness and peer support, which allowed them to navigate the global pandemic.

CONCLUSION

By identifying global challenges and strategies to overcome these, neonatal nurses may be better equipped as the pandemic continues. The reflections underscore the importance of family integrated care and the tension created when it is compromised.

A Multisite Survey of NICU Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions About Family-Centered Care

BACKGROUND

Family-centered care contributes to improved outcomes for preterm and ill infants. Little is known about the perceptions of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) healthcare professionals regarding the degree to which their NICU practices or values family-centered care.

PURPOSE

The aims of this study were to describe attitudes and beliefs of NICU healthcare professionals about family-centered care and to explore professional characteristics that might influence those views.

METHODS

Data were derived from the baseline phase of a multicenter quasi-experimental study comparing usual family-centered NICU care with mobile-enhanced family-integrated care. Neonatal intensive care unit healthcare professionals completed the Family-Centered Care Questionnaire-Revised (FCCQ-R), a 45-item measure of 9 core dimensions of Current Practice and Necessary Practice for family-centered care.

RESULTS

A total of 382 (43%) NICU healthcare professionals from 6 NICUs completed 1 or more of the FCCQ-R subscales, 83% were registered nurses. Total and subscale scores on the Necessary Practice scale were consistently higher than those on the Current Practice scale for all dimensions of family-centered care (mean: 4.40 [0.46] vs 3.61 [0.53], P < .001). Only years of hospital experience and NICU site were significantly associated with Current Practice and Necessary Practice total scores.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Ongoing assessment of the perceptions of NICU healthcare professionals regarding their current practice and beliefs about what is necessary for the delivery of high-quality family-centered care can inform NICU education, quality improvement, and maintenance of family-centered care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

Further research is needed to identify additional factors that predict family-centered care perceptions and behaviors.

Family integrated care: Supporting parents as primary caregivers in the neonatal intensive care unit

Family integrated care (FICare) is a collaborative model of neonatal care which aims to address the negative impacts of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment by involving parents as equal partners, minimizing separation, and supporting parent-infant closeness. FICare incorporates psychological, educational, communication, and environmental strategies to support parents to cope with the NICU environment and to prepare them to be able to emotionally, cognitively, and physically care for their infant. FICare has been associated with improved infant feeding, growth, and parent wellbeing and self-efficacy; important mediators for long-term improved infant neurodevelopmental and behavioural outcomes. FICare implementation requires multi-disciplinary commitment, staff motivation, and sufficient time for preparation and readiness for change as professionals relinquish power and control to instead develop collaborative partnerships with parents. Successful FICare implementation and culture change have been applied by neonatal teams internationally, using practical approaches suited to their local environments. Strategies such as parent and staff meetings and relational communication help to break down barriers to change by providing space for the co-creation of knowledge, the negotiation of caregiving roles and the development of trusting relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerability within programs supporting parental presence in neonatal units and the profound impacts of parent-infant separation. New technologies and digital innovations can help to mitigate these challenges, and support renewed efforts to embed FICare philosophy and practice in neonatal care during the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.

Influence of Family Integrated Care on the Intestinal Microbiome of Preterm Infants With Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Enterostomy: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of family integrated care (FICare) on the intestinal microbiome of preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis and enterostomy. This was a prospective pilot study at Beijing Children's Hospital. Premature infants with an enterostomy who met the enrollment criteria were divided into the 2-week FICare and non-FICare groups (non-randomly). We collected their fecal samples and subjected the intestinal microbiomes to 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Operational taxonomic units (OTU) were analyzed to assess the intestinal microbiome richness, and we then carried out α-diversity, β-diversity, and species clustering analyses and a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis to identify the differences in the microbial communities between the two groups. There were 12 patients enrolled in the study (FICare, n = 7; non-FICare, n = 5). There were no significant between-group differences in demographic characteristics, or in the relative abundances of phyla and genera. The major bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, and Serratia, Enterococcus, Cronobacter, and Bifidobacterium dominated at the genus level. The α-diversity analysis indicated that the intestinal flora was more diverse in the non-FICare group than the FICare group (p < 0.05). However, most of the other indicators did not suggest a difference between the two groups. There was a high proportion of shared OTUs between the two groups, and the PCoA and clustering analyses indicated that the two groups were difficult to distinguish, indicating that the intestinal microbiomes were relatively similar between the groups. In summary, short-term FICare had no significant positive effect on the establishment of intestinal flora diversity in premature infants with necrotizing enterocolitis and enterostomy. The trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-OPN-17011801).

Effect of Fathers' Presence and Involvement in Newborn Care in the NICU on Mothers' Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and examine how fathers' presence and involvement in the care of their newborns affect symptoms of PPD within the first 2 weeks after birth among mothers with newborns in the NICU.

DESIGN

Observational cohort study.

SETTING

Open-bay, 40-bed, tertiary level NICU in Eastern Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Mothers (N = 105) of newborns who were anticipated to survive and required more than 5 days of hospitalization in the NICU.

METHODS

Participants completed the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) 14 days after they gave birth. They kept daily diaries to record the amount of time that fathers spent by the newborns' bedsides (i.e., presence) and actively caring for their newborns (i.e., involvement such as skin to skin). Participants completed daily diaries from the time of enrollment in the study until their newborns were discharged home. We analyzed the data using linear regression; score on the PDSS was the dependent variable, and fathers' presence and involvement were the independent variables. We adjusted for covariates.

RESULTS

The prevalence of positive screening for symptoms of major PPD was 24.1% (n = 20), and the prevalence of significant symptoms of PPD was 27.7% (n = 23). Participants reported that fathers were present in the NICU an average of 3.8 hours per day and were actively involved with their newborns 53% of the time. Fathers' involvement was significantly associated with lower scores on the PDSS (adjusted β = -3.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] [-6.10, -1.60]). A history of anxiety was significantly associated with greater scores on the PDSS (adjusted β = 12.06, 95% CI [2.07, 22.05]). Maternal age and income less than $50,000 CAD were marginally associated with greater scores on the PDSS (adjusted β = -0.86, 95% CI [-1.77, 0.05] and adjusted β = 10.69, 95% CI [-0.73, 22.11], respectively). The overall explained variance in the PDSS scores with the independent variables was R² = 0.35.

CONCLUSION

Fathers' involvement in the care of their newborns in the NICU was significantly associated with fewer symptoms of PPD among mothers. We recommend research with targeted interventions to promote fathers' involvement in the NICU to potentially mitigate the symptoms of PPD among mothers of newborns in the NICU.

Family Integrated Care for Preterm Infants

Parent-infant separation is a major source of stress for parents of hospitalized preterm infants and has negative consequences for infant health and development. Family Integrated Care (FICare) uses a strengths-based approach, based on family-centered care principles to promote parental empowerment, learning, shared decision making, and positive parent-infant caregiving experiences. Outcomes of FICare include increased self-efficacy upon discharge and improved parent-infant relationships and infant developmental outcomes. In this article, the authors describe the FICare model and emerging evidence regarding outcomes of FICare for infants and families and discuss challenges and opportunities in implementing and maintaining high-quality FICare.