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Review
. 2025 Apr;114(4):710-730.
doi: 10.1111/apa.17272. Epub 2024 May 13.

Family integrated care: State of art and future perspectives

Bárbara Moreno-Sanz  1   2 , Milène Tirza Alferink  3 , Karel O'Brien  4   5 , Linda S Franck  6
Affiliations
Review

Family integrated care: State of art and future perspectives

Bárbara Moreno-Sanz et al. Acta Paediatr. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Family integrated care (FICare) represents a contemporary approach to health care that involves the active participation of families within the healthcare team. It empowers families to acquire knowledge about the specialised care required for their newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and positions them as primary caregivers. Healthcare professionals in this model act as mentors and facilitators during the hospitalisation period. This innovative model has exhibited notable enhancements in both short- and long-term health outcomes for neonates, alongside improved psychological well-being for families and heightened satisfaction among healthcare professionals. Initially designed for stable premature infants and their families, FICare has evolved to include critically ill premature and full-term infants. Findings from recent studies affirm the safety and feasibility of FICare as a NICU-wide model of care, benefiting all infants and families. The envisioned expansion of FICare focusses on sustainability and extending its implementation, recognising the necessity for tailored adaptations to suit varying diverse cultural and socio-economic contexts.

Keywords: NICU; critically ill infants; family integrated care; future perspectives; parents; scaling up.

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References

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