Parents and Health Care Teams Perceptions of Communication in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Authors

marjan mardani, Associate professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Nursing, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.Follow
haydeh heidari, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Modeling in Health Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.Follow

Abstract

Parents experience a lot of stress in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Then effective communication between parents and members of the care team is an essential component of improving the quality of care. The present study was conducted by qualitative exploratory research method for explaining parents and health care teams' perceptions of communication in NICU. We selected 39 participants by purposive sampling. We collected data through in-depth semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The transcripts were analysed using the conventional content analysis approach. Three themes were obtained by analyzing the data included, the nature of communication, the theme of factors affecting successful communication, the theme of factor affecting continuity communication. All members of the care team should be involved in parent communication. But according to our results, nurses are more responsible for communicating with parents. Finding from the study indicates the key role of nurses in communicating in the NICU. It is necessary to teach physicians and nurses, especially physicians, how to communicate with parents. Also, health system authorities have an important role in continuing education on communication methods in the NICU.

Keywords

parent, communication, health care team, neonatal intensive care unit

Author Bio(s)

Marjan Mardani-Hamooleh is an Associate professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Nursing, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ORCID: 0000-0001-5945-9121

Haydeh Heidari (ORCID: 0000-0003-2818-9928) is an Associate professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Nursing, Modeling in Health Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. Please direct correspondence to haydehheidari@gmail.com

Correspondence to: Haydeh Heidari, Associate professor , School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Rahmatieh, PO Box 3833346699, Telephone: +98 383 3335648. Shahrekord, Iran. ORCID: 0000-0003-2818-9928

Email: haydehheidari@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments: This study is research that approved by Sharekord Universiy of Medical Sciences (no 2957). The researchers appreciate all participants who shared their experiences with us

Publication Date

5-6-2024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6233

Recommended APA Citation

mardani, m., & heidari, h. (2024). Parents and Health Care Teams Perceptions of Communication in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The Qualitative Report, 29(5), 1266-1278. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6233