Mobile-Enhanced Family-Integrated Care for Preterm Infants: Nurse and Physician Views About Implementation

The mobile-enhanced family-integrated care (mFICare) model addresses inconsistencies in family-centered care (FCC) delivery, with an evidence-based bundle of staff training, parent participation in rounds, parent classes, parent peer mentors, expanded role for parents in infant caregiving, and a parent-designed app.

Our aim was to explore the views of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses and physicians about mFICare implementation, including what worked well and what could be improved.

As part of a larger study to compare mFICare with FCC, we invited registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and fellow and attending physicians at the 3 study sites to participate in a survey about mFICare implementation. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.

The majority of the 182 respondents with experience delivering mFICare positively rated parent-led rounds, parent classes, parent skills acquisition, and the nurse-family relationship resulting from participation in mFICare. Respondents were less familiar or neutral regarding the parent peer mentor and app components of mFICare. Most respondents agreed that the mFICare program improved parent empowerment, and they shared suggestions for optimizing implementation. Physicians experienced more challenges with parent participation in rounds than nurses. Three themes emerged from the free-text data related to emotional support for parents, communication between staff and parents, and the unique experiences of families receiving mFICare.

The mFICare program was overall acceptable to nurses and physicians, and areas for improvement were identified. With implementation refinement, mFICare can become a sustainable model to enhance delivery of FCC in NICUs.