Parental interaction with infants treated with medical technology
2013 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, ISSN 0283-9318, E-ISSN 1471-6712, Vol. 27, no 3, p. 597-607Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: It is well established that parents must interact with their new-born babies to facilitate attachment. However, very little is known about how parents perceive different types of medical technology products commonly used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as barriers to their wish to interact with their infants. Aim: This study aims to examine to what extent the different medical technology products commonly used in the NICU are perceived by parents to be obstacles in their wish to interact with their babies. Design and methods: In 2010, a cross-sectional survey, using a questionnaire specifically developed for this study, was conducted among the parents of children who were discharged from any of the five NICUs of the Vastra Gotaland region in Sweden. A consecutive sample of 248 parents anticipated, and multiple regressions and t-tests were used to analyse the data. Results: The parents generally perceived the various medical technology products differently, according to the perceived level of obstruction. The variables of gender, age,educational level, origin, gestational age, previous experience of being a parent, and the offer of accommodation at the NICU were significantly associated with the perceived level of obstruction in the parents’ wish to interact with their baby while the baby was being treated with different medical technology products. Conclusion: The primary implication for practice is that to facilitate attachment, nurses should involve different categories of parents in different ways in the care of their children, depending on the equipment being used in the treatment of the children. Thus, the individual care plan should explicitly include the details of the specific medical equipment, because although its use is medically beneficial for the child, it is associated with potential liabilities regarding parent–child interaction and, consequently, regarding parent–child attachment.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. , 2013. Vol. 27, no 3, p. 597-607
Keywords [en]
incubator, respiratory, support, monitoring, infusion, phototherapy, parental interaction with infants, nursing, neonatal intensive care unit
Keywords [sv]
Kvalitetsdriven logistik
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-1596DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2012.01061.xISI: 000321625800013PubMedID: 22862418Local ID: 2320/12551OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-1596DiVA, id: diva2:869665
2015-11-132015-11-132017-12-03Bibliographically approved