Authors (including presenting author) :
LEUNG KK (1), AU KA (1), CHOI YY(1), NG WH (1), YAU CM(1), MA PK(1), CHAN YL(1)(2), WK CHIU (1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (2)Nursing Services Division
Introduction :
Hospitalization of newborns to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a stressful experience for parents. The parental role alteration, sights and sounds of the unit, and infant behaviour and appearance are identified as the main stressors of parents in previous studies. Prolonged exposure to stress may disrupt the parent-infant attachment and might potentially impact the development of the child. The roles of neonatal nurses are not limited to promote the well-being of the neonates but also relieving parental stresses. An admission booklet is designed by neonatal nurses and the effectiveness of it has been evaluated.
Objectives :
- To reduce stress in parents of newborns - To evaluate the stress level of parents - To empower the role of parents - To strengthen parent-nurse relationship
Methodology :
Twenty-three parents whose newborns were newly admitted to NICU from late November 2019 to January 2020 were recruited as convenience sampling. They were allocated into two groups randomly: intervention (n=12) and control (n=11). The control group received routine care while the intervention group was introduced with a new admission booklet by trained nurses within 24 to 48 hours of admission. Content of booklet includes newborn appearance, NICU environment, equipment commonly used, common investigations, and nurses’ and parent’s role in NICU. The parental stress of the sight and sounds, infant behavior and appearance and parental role were assessed and compared according to the Parental Stressor Scale: NICU (PSS: NICU). The parental and neonatal demographic data were collected as well as both total mean scores and subscale scores were obtained. Parent’s feedback was collected by using a self-developed 5 likert-type scale; which evaluated parent’s perception of the admission booklet.
Result & Outcome :
In the PSS: NICU, the total mean scores of the intervention group (mean 1.92) was significantly lower than the control group (mean 3.09). Parental stressors were identified among the subscales. Among all subscales, the mean score in parental role was the highest (mean 3.53). Sudden alarms (mean 3.73), the use of ventilator (mean 3.82) and the sense of helplessness (mean 4.0) were scored highest. Overall, there was 91.5% of parents perceived that the new admission booklet could help to reduce their stress level when they were facing critically ill newborns in NICU. By introducing the new admission booklet, the parental stress in NICU was reduced effectively. Besides providing information of the environment, the stressors of parents in NICU can also be reduced by addressing their feelings. The results of the study implied the vital role of nurses in developing a rapport relationship with the parents and empowering the parental role in NICU.
