Caring in a neonatal intensive care unit: perspectives of providers and consumers

Neonatal intensive care units have continually grown in number and complexity in their short history. The care given to infants and families in these units is done, in large part, by nursing. This article discusses the development of a scale that will explore the perceptions of this care by both consumers and providers. The perceptions of each group will be compared to determine if care that is thought and intended to be caring for providers is indeed perceived as such by consumers. This is of significant importance to the developing body of knowledge related to caring in nursing, and it will also promote care that is family centered.