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Background and Aims

Family centered care is an innovative construct that focuses on partnership between patient, family, and healthcare workers, with intention of empathetic, effective, and quality healthcare. The aim of this research was to study how elements of family centered care are implemented in NICU and PICU in Slovenia.

Methods

In research a structured questionnaire was used, based on questionnaire by Institute for Family Centered Care.

Results

Sample consisted of 122 parents. Units’ policy restricts 24-hour presence of the parents with the child. Parents are satisfied with the level of communication, but they wish to be informed better. Most of the parents had an opportunity to be involved in the care for their child. Parents find the most important concept to be sharing information and the least important concept to be collaboration – it is also the least represented concept in the clinical environment. Older parents find it less important to have financial support, but they think privacy is important more. Parents with a higher level of education find it more important to be with their child, they value timely communication and being able to express their worries. Parents who have more children find it less important, that fathers are treated equally.

Conclusions

Elements of family centered care are implemented inconsistently in Slovenian NICUs and PICUs. There is a prioritizing need for education of healthcare workers and further research about family centered care.

Background and Aims

Background: Children with tracheostomy have a large need for medical care such as medical apparatus, constant surveillance, and assistance. This can potentially affect not only the child but also its parents and the whole family. Despite this large need, there is little information and research on the experiences of parents and their lives and how the tracheostomy affects the interaction with their child.

Aim: The aim of this study was to uncover how parents' experience of the interaction with their child is affected by the child’s tracheostomy.

Methods

Method: The study is an empirical interview study in which data was analyzed with a phenomenologically inspired method, intended to investigate parents’ experiences more deeply.

Results

Results: Three overarching themes that affected the interaction were identified: inner stressors, outer stressors, and safety. The study showed that the parents experience their situation as both difficult and full of stress, which also affected the interaction with their child in both obvious and subtle ways.

Conclusions

Conclusion: Parents of children with tracheostomies experience that the interaction with their child is affected by the tracheostomy in several different ways. The results of this study may hopefully be used to inform and improve the care for children with tracheostomies and their families.

Background and Aims

To support attachment and infants’ development, high quality parent-infant interaction is important. The Early Collaborative Intervention was developed to support interaction between moderate to late preterm infants and their parents. The preterm infant´s subtle cues are discussed when parents are performing an everyday care-taking procedure and instant feedback is delivered to give the parents the opportunity to notice, interpret and respond to cues immediately. The aim was to explore mothers´ experiences of the intervention.

Methods

A qualitative interview study with mothers experienced with the intervention.

Results

The data generated two main themes describing the mothers´ feelings aroused during the intervention and the experiences of the knowledge gained from the intervention. The mothers experienced the intervention to affect their perception of the preterm infants´ behavior and how this awareness positively affected their communication with the infant as well as the parents’ mutual discussions regarding the infant.

Conclusions

The intervention was found to be helpful for the mothers in their growing motherhood and it felt strengthening for their relationship with the other parent. The mothers felt supported in how to be attentive to their preterm infant´s individualized needs and that helped them optimize the care and create comfort both for themselves and their infant.