The impact of special care nursery design on neonatal nurses

Abstract

The current study examined the impact of neonatal nursery design on nursing staff in an XXX context. Nurses' employee adjustment and job demands and resources were examined, using surveys and interviews, before and after the transition from an openbay to a single family room (SFR) design. Results revealed significant increases in the level of nurse workload and isolation. Most employee adjustment and resources indicators remained relatively unchanged after the transition, however inconsistencies were found between survey and interview findings. Personal accomplishment improved in the SFR, and nurses reported increased satisfaction from the benefits accruing to infants and parents in SFR, which we argue potentially ameliorate the impact of increased workload and isolation within the SFR.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Layout and Nurses’ Work

“…The authors suggest that interacting with the parents in the private room allows for improved teaching and greater parent involvement in infant care, leaving parents more confident at discharge. Beck, Weis, Greisen, Andersen, and Zoffman (2009) and Hogan, Jones, and Saul (2016) reported similar findings, with Hogan et al (2016) citing a "tailoring of care" that occurs in private rooms.…”

“…Domanico et al (2010) reported that communication among staff and staff support significantly decreased in the SFR unit immediately and 18 months after new unit construction. Hogan et al (2016) and Walsh et al (2006) both reported difficulty with staff communication in the qualitative portions of their studies. Similarly, via questionnaire in a posttest-only study, Cone et al (2010) reported that over one third of nurses struggled with feelings of isolation from coworkers after conversion to SFR layout; feelings of isolation are also documented in the qualitative portion of the study by Hogan et al (2016).…”

“…Results: N ¼ 55, 56, and 9 at T1, T2, and T3. At T2 and T3, nurses reported significant improvements in quality of the physical environment, ability to concentrate, family and staff privacy, and ease of communication At T3 only, improvements included the ability of staff to interact with parents, on the job productivity, and staff morale Hogan, Jones, & Saul, 2016 Purpose: Examined the impact of NICU design on nursing staff in terms of job demands and resources and employee adjustment.…”

“…Improved quality of the physical environment Shepley et al, 2008Smith et al, 2009Domanico et al, 2010Stevens et al, 2010Bosch et al, 2012Watson et al, 2014 Decreased interaction among care team Walsh et al, 2006Smith et al, 2009Beck et al, 2009Stevens et al, 2010Domanico et al, 2010Bosch et al, 2012, 2016 Improved quality of patient care Walsh et al, 2006Smith et al, 2009Cone et al, 2010Stevens et al,2010 Increased workload Walsh et al, 2006Beck et al, 2009Smith et al, 2009Domanico et al, 2010Hogan et al, 2016Improved parent interaction Smith et al, 2009Beck et al, 2009Watson et al, 2014Hogan et al, 2016 Decreased safety Walsh et al, 2006Cone et al, 2010Domainco et al, 2010 Decreased nurse stress/burnout, increased job satisfaction Harris et al, 2006Shepley et al, 2008Cone et al, 2010Bosch et al, 2012Hogan et al, 2016 Difficult interactions with family Beck et al, 2009 Stevens et al (2010, 2012) do not discuss the finding that nurses' perception of the quality of patient care improved, and they do not report responses to single items within the subscale. However, nurses participating in the Cone, Short, and Gutcher (2010) and Walsh, McCullough, and White (2006) studies believed that patient care improved related to the calm atmosphere that the SFR layout provides, which promotes sleep and family bonding.…”

The Influence of Neonatal Nursery Design on Mothers' Interactions in the Nursery

“…Moreover, recent research has found that the SFR was associated with increased visitation and breastfeeding by mothers, both at discharge and four months post-discharge (Jones, Jones & Feary, in press). Hogan, Jones and Saul (2016) also reported that seeing the benefits for parents of SFRs was perceived by nurses as improving their job satisfaction and sense of personal accomplishment, despite SFRs also being associated with increased workload and isolation.…”