Benefits, Promotion and Barriers that Nurses’ Perceived for Implementing Family-Centered Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Purpose: This study was to identify NICU nurses’ benefits, promotion and barriers for family centered care (FCC) implementation in Japan.
Methods: This qualitative descriptive study used a convenience sampling of NICUs from the greater Tokyo area Japan yielding 12 NICU nurses from six of the ten perinatal medical centers approached. Three focus-group interviews with four nurses each were conducted.
Results: Seven categories were extracted as actual nurses’ practices of FCC. Four categories were extracted as benefits for to implement FCC: 1) greater psychological health of parents and improvement in parental competencies; 2) strengthening family bonding and function; 3) enhancing communication and information sharing about child’s care and 4) nurses’ greater job satisfaction. Five categories were extracted as promoting factors for nurses’ to implement FCC: 1) strength of staff education about FCC; 2) opportunities of decision-making about care policies of the unit; 3) team activities to improve care for families; 4) understanding and support from pediatricians about FCC and 5) positive responses from families to implement FCC. Five categories were extracted as barriers to implement FCC: 1) lack of knowledge and skills about FCC; 2) limited opportunities of decision-making about care policies; 3) concerns about families’ abilities to perform child’s care; 4) negative attitude for shifting to family-centered care policies from staff centered/task oriented care; 5) burden to implement FCC with limited staff and 6) different views on FCC among staff.
Conclusion: This study provides direction for promoting nurses’ to implement FCC by strengthening staff education about FCC and providing organizational support from managers and other healthcare professionals.