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Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
NICU Nurses' Knowledge and Practices on Maternal Voice Exposure for Preterm Infants
1Author Affiliations: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, İstanbul, Turkey (Ms Küçük); Institute of Graduate Studies, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, İstanbul, Turkey (Ms Küçük); and Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Koç University, İstanbul, Turkey (Dr Gözen).
Summary
Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses have high knowledge of maternal voice benefits for preterm infants, but most do not implement it due to a lack of protocols and resources. Addressing these barriers is key to improving developmental care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal developmental care
- Evidence-based practice in nursing
- Healthcare systems research
Background:
- Maternal voice exposure offers significant neurodevelopmental advantages for preterm infants.
- Inconsistent integration of maternal voice exposure into routine neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care highlights a critical knowledge-to-action gap.
- Effective developmental care practices in the NICU are essential for infant well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess NICU nurses' knowledge of maternal voice exposure.
- To evaluate current clinical practices related to maternal voice exposure.
- To identify systemic barriers hindering the implementation of maternal voice exposure.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 166 NICU nurses in Türkiye.
- Data were gathered using a validated knowledge questionnaire and a clinical practice assessment tool.
- Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and group comparisons (t-tests, ANOVA).
Main Results:
- Nurses demonstrated high average knowledge scores (82.70 ± 9.29) regarding maternal voice exposure.
- Despite high knowledge, 75.9% of nurses did not implement this practice.
- A significant barrier was the absence of written protocols (94.0%), alongside time constraints and equipment shortages.
Conclusions:
- A substantial "knowledge-to-action" gap exists among NICU nurses regarding maternal voice exposure.
- The lack of standardized, evidence-based protocols is the primary systemic barrier to implementation.
- NICU leadership must develop clinical guidelines and education to overcome barriers and integrate this practice into routine care.
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