2021 Volume 30 Pages 35-42
Our qualitative and inductive research aimed to clarify transitional support for the home care procedures for mothers and family members of infants with severe motor and intellectual disabilities. These infants were first transferred from NICU and admitted to the general hospital pediatric ward which provides an interim facility. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine nurses working in the pediatric ward at the general hospital. We analyzed the results using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. The results indicated that the support provided for transitioning from an interim facility to home care consisted of the following four categories; removing the gap of mother-infant separation, implementing transitional support strategies, intensifying transitional support to promote adaptation to home care, and evaluating the objectives for each mother and family members. Interim facilities improve home transition support, including home health and living care functions. It is crucial to develop family bonds focused on the mother-child relationship with seriously handicapped children and ensure that support is individually calibrated to the needs of each mother and family members’ mental and physical wellbeing.
