Clinician–family relationships may impact neonatal intensive care: clinicians’ perspectives
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Renee D. Boss; Janet R. Serwint; Jennifer J. Miller
- Source
- Journal of Perinatology
- Subject
- Parents
medicine.medical_specialty
business.industry
Family characteristics
Medical record
Communication
Infant, Newborn
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Infant
Paediatrics
Mixed methods analysis
Patient care
Article
Health services
Family medicine
Intensive care
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Patient-Centered Care
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Intensive Care, Neonatal
Medicine
Humans
Family Relations
business
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1476-5543
0743-8346
Objective Collaborative clinician–family relationships are necessary for the delivery of successful patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) in the NICU. Challenging clinician–family relationships may undermine such collaboration and the potential impacts on patient care are unknown. Study design Consistent caregivers were surveyed to describe their relationships and collaboration with families of infants hospitalized ≥ 28 days. Medical record review collected infant and family characteristics hypothesized to impact relationships. Mixed methods analysis was performed. Results Clinicians completed 243 surveys representing 77 families. Clinicians reported low collaboration with families who were not at the bedside and/or did not speak English. Clinicians perceived most clinician–family relationships impact the infant’s hospital course. Negative impacts included communication challenges, mistrust or frustration with the team and disruptions to patient care. Conclusion This study identifies features of clinician–family relationships that may negatively impact an infant’s NICU stay. Targeting supports for these families is necessary to achieve effective PFCC.