Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of family centred care in neonatal intensive care units: a qualitative thematic synthesis.

Abstract

Background: The Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) is very stressful for infants' development and well-beiging. Parental separation also causes stress for both the infant and the parents. Thus, it is essential to support and involve parents in the care for their infants through Family-Centred Care (FCC). FCC is an approach based on close collaboration between healthcare professionals and patients' families in neonatal care to achieve the well-being of critically ill infants. However, health care professionals in NICUs often have difficulty implementing this approach of care. Therefore, in this review, it is intended to determine the factors influencing the implementation of family-centred care in NICUs. Aim: A systematic review of the literature was conducted aim to review evidence based in healthcare providers' perceptions to explore the factors Influencing the Implementation of family-centred care in NICUs. Methodology: A comprehensive systematic literature search was completed with a librarian's assistance using five electronic databases. Primary studies were identified from the CINAHL, Medline, Embase, Scopus, and MIDIRS . The full-text studies included in the review were assessed for quality using the JBI checklist. Results: Ten relevant studies were identified and included in the review. Two main analytical themes were identified: challenges related to the culture of NICU care and the imbalance of parental responsibilities. Conclusion: This review included the reported challenges in providing family-centred care in the NICU and suggested facilitators to improve its implementation. It can be concluded that it is important to enhance the culture of FCC practice in NICU. Thus, there is a need for clear policies and regulations, infrastructure, staffing, improved communication, and education for parents and staff to facilitate the adaptation of the concept of family-centered care. Further, it was critical to acknowledge parents' needs and provide families with supportive services to enable them to play more active role in infant care in the NICU.

KEY WORDS: Healthcare professional* ; Healthcare provider* ; Health care Personnel ; Nurses* ; Neonatal Nurse* ; Family centred care ; Family centered care ;FCC; NICU*; Neonatal intensive care unit*; Neonatal critical care unit*