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Interdisciplinary Family Conferences to Improve Patient Experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Jennifer A Trujillo1, Yesenia Fernandez1, Lyla Ghafoori1
1Department of Social Work Services, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach, CA. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Henderson Hospital, Las Vegas, NV.
Insights
Interdisciplinary family conferences (IFCs) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) significantly improve parental involvement and satisfaction. This initiative enhances family-centered care for critically ill infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Care
- Family-Centered Medicine
- Pediatric Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Parental involvement is crucial for neonate development and impacts NICU length of stay.
- Parents of critically ill infants often face challenging decisions regarding their child's care.
- Formal family conferences can enhance parental experience and engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and evaluate the impact of interdisciplinary family conferences (IFCs) on parental involvement and satisfaction in the NICU.
- To improve communication and collaboration between healthcare teams and families.
- To establish a proactive approach to family engagement for high-risk infants.
Main Methods:
- A quality improvement project was initiated, establishing IFCs within two weeks of admission for infants <32 weeks gestation or with congenital anomalies.
- NICU social workers and the interdisciplinary team collaborated to develop strategies for effective communication.
- Family satisfaction scores from hospital surveys were used as the primary outcome measure.
Main Results:
- Implementation of IFCs led to a steady improvement in family satisfaction scores.
- The initiative demonstrated the integral role of IFCs in family-centered care.
- Enhanced partnerships between families and the NICU team were observed.
Conclusions:
- Interdisciplinary family conferences are a vital component of family-centered care in the NICU.
- IFCs effectively foster parental involvement in all aspects of patient care.
- This approach significantly improves the overall family experience within the NICU setting.
Abstract:
Parents play a significant role in the development of their neonate. They can affect the length of stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and are seen as an integral part of the team. Parents are often put in positions where difficult decision making is required of them in the care of their critically ill child. Studies suggest that one way to improve the family's experience and to encourage their involvement is by establishing a formal and focused family conference. Therefore, the NICU social workers and the interdisciplinary team collaborated to formulate strategies to improve communication that would enhance current practice. As a new initiative, the team decided that holding an interdisciplinary family conference (IFC) within the first two weeks of a baby's NICU admission is critical for parental involvement of infants less than 32 weeks gestation and those with congenital birth anomalies. The team determined that the primary outcome measure would be family satisfaction scores from hospital surveys. Since the implementation of IFCs, satisfaction scores showed steady improvement. This quality improvement project demonstrated that IFCs are an integral part of the family-centered care approach in the NICU. IFCs foster partnerships with families to ensure their involvement in all aspects of patient care and improve their experience in the NICU.
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