A proposal for a multicenter study on Family-Centered Care in Nicu, parents’ satisfaction and experience
Autori
Abstract
Background and aim
The quality of family-centered care (FCC) in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is often assessed through Parental Satisfaction (PS). At the moment, FCC in NICU is not expressed homogeneously across Europe. The objective of the study is to evaluate the quality of FCC by a validated PS instrument and to explore its relationship with the level of FCC expressed by professionals and by the organization of the NICU
Methods
A multicenter, observational study will be performed. In particular, a survey across all the Italian NICUs will investigate NICUs’ organization, using the “FCC in the NICU: A Self-Assessment Inventory” from the FCC Institute. Then, a cross-sectional design will assess the satisfaction of, at least, 400 parents of discharged newborns, using the “EMPATHICN” questionnaire, developed by Latour et al. (2012) and the professional attitude of 400 healthcare providers with the “FCCQR” questionnaire by Bruce et al. (1997), revised for neonatology setting.Ethical approval for the study has been submitted to the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital Ethical Board. Written informed consent forms will be collected among all the participating parents and healthcare providers.
Results
Descriptive statistical analysis will be performed on the results from the samples (NICU, parents and healthcare providers) and items normality will be tested through asymmetry and kurtosis index.
Conclusions
A reliable description of PS and the identification of variables associated with it is expected. The results of the study will provide guidance for organization and training relevant to the FCC interventions, to increase the quality of care and the PS. In addition, the results provide evidence based outcomes for benchmarking the NICU clinical practices.
