Improving Parental Knowledge of Medically Complex Neonates Through Scheduled Conferences

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Quality Improvement Science
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Parental dissatisfaction with information quality in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
• Need for structured communication with families of medically complex neonates.
• Previous lack of consistent follow-up information delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate planned family conferences for medically complex neonates.
• To improve information consistency and parental satisfaction.
• To establish a sustainable communication system within the NICU.

Main Methods:

• Quality improvement project involving planned family conferences at 10 days and 1 month.
• Social workers scheduled conferences; neonatologists conducted them.
• Statistical process control charts used to track measures over 21 months.

Main Results:

• Conferences scheduled for over 80% of eligible families, exceeding the 50% goal.
• Achieved an 86% completion rate for conferences at 10 days and 1 month.
• High parental satisfaction reported; only 2% found meetings burdensome, compared to 14% of physicians.

Conclusions:

• A structured system for family conferences is effective in improving communication and satisfaction.
• Sustainable scheduling and preparation methods, including templates, contribute to successful implementation.
• This quality improvement initiative positively impacted family-centered care in the NICU.