Parent preparation for the NICU-to-home transition: staff and parent perceptions

Thirty-four nurses who were employed more than 20 hr per week in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a midwestern teaching hospital participated in a survey on discharge teaching. The survey consisted of 43 topics on which parents may or may not receive instruction prior to their baby's discharge from the NICU. For each topic, nurses were asked how important the topic is for parents to learn about prior to discharge, whether parents in the NICU are currently receiving instruction on the topic, and who among the NICU staff is responsible for instruction on the topic. Data obtained from this survey were compared to data obtained from a similar survey conducted 18 months previously with parents in the same NICU. Nurses rated the majority of topics in the survey as being very important for parents to learn about prior to their baby's discharge. For many of the items, a significant discrepancy existed between the percentage of nurses reporting the topics that were routinely taught and the percentage of parents who actually recalled learning about the topics. Suggestions on ways to improve the effectiveness of discharge teaching are provided.