Family-centered Care in NICU

Abstract

Family centered care is philosophy that recognizes the role of the parents and its importance in the child’s life. It values family wellbeing as whole and provides care for all its members. Nurses are the main figures that can enforce this care model and implement it in the neonatal units. The aim: was to understand what family centered care is? In the neonatal intensive care family centered care was provided to families facing separation from their newborn. Family centered care lays the foundation for parental involvement in the care and increasing their presence at the hospital. Research questions for this thesis are.1) What are the benefits of implementing Family Centered Care in neonatal units? 2)What are some of the challenges concerning family centered care? Methodology: Peer reviewed scholarly articles, books and other data bases were researched for relevant and evidence-based care model that displayed the importance of family centered care. The author used inductive analysis to dense written data, through open coding the author choses three main categories that supported the benefits of family centered care. Repetitive themes and patterns were placed under each category to answer the first section of the research question. Result: The findings in this thesis supported the benefits of family centered care mentioned in the articles. This holistic care approach caters for the entire family and not only the premature baby. Theories and evidence-based results shown that maternal bonding such as skin-skin contact increases the survival rate of these children. Bringing this care model in NICU need to plan from organizational level through staff and finally families to fully implement this practice.