Perception of Mothers Needs and Nurses Felt Needs on Nursing Care Provided by Nurses to their Neonates in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

In Nepal, in the fiscal year 2014/2015, a total of 32,109 (0-28) days' infants were treated at health facilities and PHC / ORC clinics. 1 The birth of a baby is supposed to be a happy event, but for parents with a infant in the NICU, it is marked by fear, sadness, guilt and anger. 2 Many infants admitted to the NICU are born premature and have low birth weight or a medical conditions that requires intensive medical and nursing care, sometimes for several months following birth. So, the need of proper information, support, comfort, assurance, and proximity are very important to be addressed while planning a nursing care plan. Parents experience communication with the NICU staff as essential to the management of their situation. 4 When parents receive information, they feel less anxious and have a better relationship with staff.5 It is very important that nurses should provide the concrete information in order to better understand parents' need for support and try to meet their expectations, resulting in improved nursing care in neonatal intensive care units. 6 If nurses provide emotional support to parents, promote family presence and participation in the NICU and can create a welcoming environment for families which is a part of the family-centered care. 7 Assurance to parents in the NICU can enhance nursing communication and allow nurses to incorporate parents needs into families care plan. Nurses play an important role in helping parents by developing therapeutic relationship, providing accurate and proper information, emotional support, giving assurance, providing comfort and allowing parents to provide care to neonates under supervision in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The objective of the study was to assess the perception of mothers needs and nurses felt needs on nursing care provided by nurses to their neonates in the NICU. Materials & Methods: This was descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 21 NICU nurses and 69 mothers whose neonates were admitted in the NICU. Data were collected for a period of six months. Data were gathered using opinion-survey Likert scale and were analyzed using descriptive-analytical methods. Results: Subscales related to family needs, the mean score (± SD) of mothers in information was 37.7 ± 3.8, in comfort 32.1±2.8, in support 38.8±3.4, in assurance 31.2±2.2, in proximity 21.7±2.8. Mean score on care provided by nurses to their neonates in information need 39.0±3.6, in comfort 31.5±2.9, in support 38.8±4.1, in assurance 30.2±3.0, in proximity 21.1±2.4. There was no statistical difference shown in the study. The study shows positive correlation between mother's perceived need and nurses felt needs. Conclusion: According to the study findings, nurses don't put subjective assumption over mothers need. So, to develop nursing care plan, it is important to understand the needs perceived by the mothers.

Mutual trust in infant care: the nurses and mothers experiences

“…This communication of information from professional staff is very important in building trust between parents and the healthcare team . When parents receive information, they feel less anxious and perceive a better relationship with the staff .…”

Health care staff support for mothers in NICU: a focused ethnography study

“…It was considered by both medical and nursing staff a medical responsibility to discuss clinical details. Previous studies show that mothers of newborns admitted to the NICU need information about the health and condition of their newborn [ 37 ].…”

Nurses’ view of the nature of the support given to parents in the neonatal intensive care unit

“…It was stated that parental support could be strengthened by developing trust relationships between parents and the healthcare team (Foe et al, 2018 ). Moreover, in research on the perceived needs of the parents of premature infants in NICU, assurance was found to be a critical need for the parents (Bhandari et al, 2017 ; Wang et al, 2018 ). A study on NICU parents who shared what they feel substantial in making their experience better stated that they wanted their voice to be taken seriously, especially when identifying changes in the condition and decisions in caring for their baby (Petty et al, 2019 ).…”