Integrative Review of Parents' Perspectives of the Nursing Role in Neonatal Family-Centered Care

Abstract

Objectives: To identify the perceptions of mothers and fathers of newborns admitted to NICUs regarding the role of neonatal nurses in the provision of family-centered care and how neonatal nurses were able to interpret and meet parents' needs.

Data sources: We conducted literature searches in the CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Dissertations and Theses Global, and Maternity and Infant Care databases.

Study selection: Articles on qualitative and quantitative studies were selected if they were published in English from 2009 to 2018; they were set in countries with similar health care resources in Australasia, Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and the data were collected from parents. We identified 31 studies for analysis.

Data extraction: We used the thematic analysis method of Braun and Clarke to extract data elements that were grouped and coded into themes and subthemes.

Data synthesis: Through ongoing iterative analysis, we generated six themes from the 18 subthemes that in combination presented the experiences of parents in the context of family-centered care provided by neonatal nurses: Process of Becoming a Parent, Neonatal NursesSupportingParents, Infant Safety, Communication, Barriers to Parenting, and Parenting Inhibited by Neonatal Nurses.

Conclusion: The six themes reflected the contribution made by neonatal nurses to family-centered care in the NICU. The parents' perspectives of nurses were mostly positive, but some negative aspects attributed to nurses identified in earlier studies persisted.

Keywords: family-centered care; infant; neonatal nurse; neonatal unit; parent.