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Palliative care in neonatal intensive care, effects on parent stress and satisfaction: a feasibility study
Annie R Petteys1, Joy R Goebel2, Joetta D Wallace3
1Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA apetteys@memorialcare.org.
Context:
Approximately 1 in 10 infants require neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization, which causes parental stress. Palliative care (PC) provides an opportunity to alleviate suffering and stress.
Objectives:
This study examines the effects of PC on NICU parent stress and satisfaction.
Methods:
A prospective cohort design compares stress and satisfaction among families receiving or not receiving PC.
Results:
No significant differences in stress scores were found (P = .27-1.00). Palliative care parents (100%) were more likely to report being "extremely satisfied" with care than usual-care parents (50%).
Conclusion:
This study supports the feasibility of evaluating NICU PC services. Infants referred for PC typically have higher morbidity/mortality; therefore, higher parental stress scores may be expected. Stress levels were similar in both cohorts, thus PC did not increase stress and may decrease PC parent stress.
