The relationship between maternal mental health and infant development has been established in the literature. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a particularly challenging environment for new mothers as several natural processes are disrupted. The objective of this study is to elucidate protective factors and environmental deficits associated with the NICU. The experiences of forty-six (n = 46) mothers of infants admitted to a Level III NICU in the Midwestern United States, who responded to a related open-ended question, were analyzed thematically. Five themes related to the NICU environment emerged as being either stressful or helpful: (1) amount and quality of communication with medical staff, (2) bedside manner of medical staff, (3) feeling alienated from infant’s care, (4) support from other NICU mothers and families, and (5) NICU Physical Environment and Regulations. There is a need for medical staff training on awareness, communication, empathy, and other behaviors that might improve maternal (and parental) experiences in the NICU. The physical environment, including rules and regulations of the NICU, should be reexamined with family comfort in mind in addition to the clinical care of the infant.
There is very little research literature that addresses sexuality at the end of life. Although end-of-life care has become a priority for nursing education, the issue of end-of-life sexuality is not included in the curriculum. Nurses are frequently in a position to establish relationships with couples that encourage a frank discussion and information sharing. As patient advocates, nurses can address end-of-life sexuality issues by taking a sexual history and implementing a general intervention model, such as the PLISSIT. Couples need to be reassured that if they have enjoyed a close sexual relationship, sexual intimacy may continue to be part of their relationship, even at the end of life.
This project demonstrated successful development of a low-cost, easy-to-construct penile model combined with a high-fidelity infant simulator that, according to the responses of the participants in this study, enhances the simulated neonatal circumcision training. A tutorial for model construction and investigator-developed skill assessment checklists for Gomco and Mogen techniques are included in this technical report.
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