Objective
To assess the perspectives of neonatologists, neonatal nurses, and parents on research-related education and communication practices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Study design
Questionnaire circulated through interest groups and administered using the internet.
Results
323 respondents responded to the survey. 52 were neonatologists, 188 were neonatal nurses, and 83 were parents of NICU graduates. Analysis was descriptive. Differences were noted between stakeholder groups with respect to whether current medications meet the needs of sick neonates, research as central to the mission of the NICU, availability of appropriate education/training for all members of the research team, and adequacy of information provided to parents before, during, and after a research study is completed.
Conclusion
Engagement of nurses and parents at all stages of NICU research is currently suboptimal; relevant good practices, including education, should be shared among neonatal units.
Future Research is needed to target aspects of practice where practice variations exist, or practice is not supported by evidence. Significant practice differences related to the device types should be considered in future research design.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.