Related Experiment Videos
Creating paths: living with a very-low-birth-weight infant
1Department of Nursing for Target Populations, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center School of Nursing 77030, USA.
Objective:
To describe parents' method of adaptation to the problems of caring for a very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infant at home.
Design:
Exploratory, involving three interview sessions, 1 month, 3 months, and 5 months after hospital discharge of a VLBW infant.
Setting:
A newborn intensive-care unit in a tertiary-care center.
Participants:
Fourteen parents of VLBW (< 1,500 g) infants after hospital discharge.
Results:
A basic social process, Creating Paths, was identified. It is the continuous process experienced by parents living with a VLBW infant the first 5 months after hospital discharge. The process consists of three stages: gathering, emerging, and affirming.
Conclusions:
This grounded theory systematically tracks and describes the adaptation process of parents with VLBW infants during the first 5 months of living at home. The theory may be used to anticipate concerns and provide guidance and support to parents and their infants.