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How parents and health professionals experience prematurity in an Italian neonatal intensive care: A grounded theory
Laura Boni1, Cinzia Gradellini2, Monica Miari3
1Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale - IRCCS Reggio Emilia, via Giovanni Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Insights
Prematurity is a psycho-social journey for parents and healthcare professionals, involving four phases from initial separation to family reconstruction. A family-centered approach enhances this negotiated process in neonatal care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Psychosocial studies
- Family systems
Background:
- Prematurity presents significant psychosocial challenges for families and healthcare providers.
- Understanding the lived experiences of parents and professionals is crucial for effective care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore prematurity as a psychosocial process from the perspectives of parents and healthcare professionals.
- To develop a theoretical model of the psychosocial journey of prematurity.
Main Methods:
- Grounded Theory methodology utilizing semi-structured interviews.
- Participants included parents of premature infants and healthcare professionals at an Italian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- Data analysis followed Grounded Theory coding strategies.
Main Results:
- Identified a four-phase negotiated process: initial breakup, floating family, event processing, and reconstruction of a new family.
- Characterized parental behaviors, emotions, and feelings alongside professional activities and reactions.
- Highlighted the dynamic interplay between families and healthcare providers.
Conclusions:
- Managing prematurity effectively requires a negotiated, family-centered approach in neonatal and pediatric services.
- Open communication, consistent information, and acknowledging the parental experience are vital for family adaptation.
- Implementing suggested practical implications can improve perinatal care outcomes.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to explore prematurity as a psycho-social process from the point of view of both parents and healthcare professionals.
Design And Methods:
We conducted a Grounded Theory study through semi-structured interviews. Participants were from an Italian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, including parents of premature children, and health professionals. Interviews were analyzed according to Grounded Theory coding strategies, to hypothesize a theoretical model.
Results:
On one side, behaviors, emotions, and feelings of parental couples; on the other one, the activities and reactions of professionals have been interpreted in a four-phase negotiated process: 1) the initial breakup; 2) the floating family; 3) the event processing; 4) the reconstruction of a new family.
Conclusions:
Managing prematurity is a negotiated process which could be better managed through a family-centered approach as fundamental in neonatal and pediatric services. Being open in listening, coherent in the given answers, and knowing the entire process and story of being suddenly parents of a premature child can make the difference in the future definition of a new family.
Practice Implications:
Perinatal care would benefit from the following suggested practical implications: i) reducing feelings of separation and solitude by integrating diverse professionals around the family systems; ii) expediting prematurity-related changes through peer-support during hospitalization and attention to rooms' organization; iii) enhancing information exchange between all professionals involved in the care of dyads/parents and new-borns, starting since the pregnancy and continuing after the child's birth by implementing multidisciplinary meetings or appropriate care pathways.
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