Background
Prevention of neurodevelopmental sequelae is a high priority in the care of infants with congenital heart defects. Individualized family-centered developmental care has been identified as a promising approach to promote infant neurodevelopment during hospitalization.
Objective
To educate nurses on the concept of individualized family-centered developmental care and its application to nursing practice and to reduce perceived barriers to its implementation.
Methods
Two evidence-based visual educational tools called “developmental care flowers” were created and implemented in the inpatient and procedural units of a cardiac center. Each flower petal represented a core component of individualized family-centered developmental care: cue-based care, patient positioning, supportive environment, and parent engagement. Surveys were administered before and after the educational intervention to assess changes in nurses’ knowledge and perceptions of individualized family-centered developmental care.
Results
Nurses reported that the developmental care flowers improved their understanding of individualized family-centered developmental care. The educational tools reduced some perceived barriers to implementation of this care model and increased nurse-reported inclusion of parents in care. Qualitative feedback from staff members regarding the tools was positive and acknowledged that individualized family-centered developmental care should be an ongoing priority.
Conclusions
The inpatient and procedural developmental care flowers are useful tools for educating nurses about individualized family-centered developmental care. They could be revised into more interactive tools that might be used to educate parents and further support the integration of this care concept into nursing practice.
Individualized Family-Centered Developmental Care