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Technology in neonatal intensive care--a study on parents' experiences
Insights
Parents in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) found the high-tech environment frightening, impacting their role. Designing NICU equipment with parent experience in mind can reduce anxiety and improve care participation.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Nursing
- Pediatric Psychology
- Health Technology Assessment
Background:
- Holistic healthcare requires comprehensive health technology assessments.
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) present a technologically advanced environment.
- Parental involvement is crucial for infant well-being and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore parents' experiences with nursing care in the NICU.
- To understand the impact of the technological environment on parental roles.
- To identify factors influencing parental anxiety and participation in infant care.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study design.
- Interviews with parents of seven full-term infants in a NICU.
- Thematic analysis of parental experiences.
Main Results:
- Parents perceived the NICU environment, with its equipment and signals, as shocking and frightening.
- The technological aspects of the NICU created an oppressive atmosphere, making parents feel like outsiders.
- This environment delayed parents' ability to engage in their child's care and fulfill their parental role.
Conclusions:
- Parental experiences in the NICU are significantly affected by the technological environment.
- Developing NICU equipment should consider parental anxiety and the desire to participate in care.
- Modifications to equipment design, including appearance and alarms, are recommended to improve the parental experience.
Abstract:
A comprehensive health technology assessment is needed to meet the demands of holistic health care. We performed a qualitative study to describe the parents' experiences of the nursing care of sick newborn infants. The parents of seven full-term infants in a neonatal intensive care unit were interviewed. The parents found the intensive care unit shocking. The equipment with wiring, tubing and blinking lights looked frightening. The parents felt very unpleasant because of the audible signals. The technological environment was oppressive, which caused the parents to feel as outsiders in their parental role and delayed the development of their ability to participate in the care of the child. To relieve the anxiety of the parents and to promote their ability to take care of their newborn child, parental experiences should be taken into account when developing devices. Special attention should be given to designing the outside appearance and the audible signals and alarms of the equipment.