Nurses' experiences working with families in an NICU during implementation of family-focused developmental care

To explore and describe nurses' experiences while working with parents and infants receiving family-focused developmental care (FFDC), to gain insight into the process of changing from a traditional model of care to FFDC.

The qualitative design was based on Spradley's method.

Data were collected by interviewing ten nurses who worked in an NICU during a pilot study of FFDC. Transcripts were analyzed using Spradley's domain analysis.

Four themes describe aspects of the transition from traditional care to FFDC: (1) negative experiences of FFDC, (2) transitions central to partnering with parents, (3) positive experiences of parental participation, and (4) organizational transitions necessary for the move to a family-centered model of care.

Learning to share responsibility with families will require change in the NICU culture as well as in nurses' role identity.