Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2025
How to Obtain Reliable Visual Event-related Potentials in Newborns
Published on: October 24, 2019
'All for the well-being of the infant': nurses' perceptions of preterm infants' eye examinations: a phenomenographic
Martina Carlsen Misic1,2, Emma Olsson3,4, Randi Dovland Andersen5,6
1Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden. martina.carlsen.misic@oru.se.
Insights
Nurses play a crucial role in caring for preterm infants during eye exams for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Enhanced collaboration and parental involvement can improve infant well-being during this stressful procedure.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Ophthalmology
- Nursing research
Background:
- Preterm infants face risks, including Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).
- Regular eye examinations are essential for ROP detection and treatment in preterm infants.
- Nurses manage infant care during these often painful and stressful eye examinations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore nurses' perceptions of eye examinations for preterm infants.
- Understanding the nursing experience to improve care during ROP screening.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 experienced nurses.
- Phenomenographic approach was used for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Nurses perceived that infants are affected by the eye examination.
- Nurses feel a comprehensive overall responsibility for the infants.
- Parents are crucial but require support in their role.
- Interprofessional collaboration is vital for successful examination outcomes.
- The category 'Nurses have comprehensive overall responsibility' encompassed all other findings.
Conclusions:
- Nurses experience significant responsibility during stressful infant eye examinations.
- Improved interprofessional collaboration, enhanced nursing care, and parental involvement can better protect infant well-being.
Background:
Preterm infants are at risk of complications due to their prematurity and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is one of them. To discover and treat ROP the preterm infants regularly undergo eye examinations. Nurses are responsible for the infants' care during this painful and stressful procedure.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to explore nurses' perceptions of preterm infants' eye examinations.
Methods:
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 nurses experienced in participating in preterm infants' eye examinations. Data were analysed using a phenomenographic approach.
Results:
The results showed several perceptions of the eye examinations, and the analysis resulted in four descriptive categories: Infants are affected by the eye examination; Nurses have comprehensive overall responsibility for the infants; Parents are important to their infants, but they need support to fulfil their parental role, and Collaboration is important for the examination's favourable outcome. The category Nurses have comprehensive overall responsibility for the infants was regarded as the most comprehensive, covering all the other categories.
Conclusions:
Nurses felt a great responsibility during a painful and stressful procedure for preterm infants. Infants' well-being could be better protected by interprofessional collaboration, improved nursing care and involved parents.
