Enhancing Parental Participation within the NICU :: Health, Family Center Care

Family centred care (FCC) encompasses the concept of parental participation in their infants care (Franck and Callery 2004). It aims to place the needs of the infant in the context of the family (Saunders et al 2003). FCC is adopted within many neonatal units and is considered the gold standard of care aiming to underpin and guide neonatal care towards the partnership between health professionals and parents (Hutchfield 1999). Subsequent to the interruption of the bonding process between infant and family when a baby is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) it is suggested that the NICU provides an ideal opportunity for FCC practice (Allerman Beck et al 2009) as nurses and parents are compelled to develop an effective relationship in order to satisfy the infants care needs (Reis et al 2009). However a study by Higman & Shaw (2008) found that it appears to be more difficult to achieve on the neonatal unit as FCC is reliant on the family’s relationship with the chi ld. In order to deliver effective FCC neonatal nurses need an understanding of parents needs and how to address them. Mundy (2010) in a study researching the assessment of family needs in neonatal Intensive Care Units found that assumptions of parent’s needs were often made by healthcare professional’s resulting in unfounded and inappropriate conclusions. The importance of treating each family as individual is paramount when assessing how best to involve parents in the care of their infants (Higman & Shaw 2008). Review of the literature shows a lack of research into these assessments and highlights that enhancing family centred care requires appropriate assessments of family needs and the incorporation of this into individualised plans of care. A study into nurse’s perceptions about the delivery of FCC by Higman and Shaw (2010) supports this view, throughout the study it is apparent that although nurses realise the importance of FCC it is not always consistent within their own practice. Peterson et al (2004) suggests reasons for these inconsistencies could be the deficiency of adequate training and, the stress implementing FCC can impose on nursing staff due to an already demanding workload, potentially creating negative attitudes towards the relevance and practicalities of its delivery. The consensus view of FCC is positive although limitations to its execution are manifested throughout the literature. Staff shortages are suggested to hinder the performance of FCC within the clinical area, creating time constraints with nurses having very little opportunity to build good relationships with the families (Higman and Shaw 2008).