Abstract
ABSTRACT (310/350 words)
Background: Neonatal Care Units (NCUs) provide special care for sick and small newborns and can help reduce neonatal mortality. For parents, the experience of having a hospitalized newborn can be traumatic. In LMIC, especially sub-Saharan Africa, there is limited information about the parents’ experience of care in NCUs.
Objective: Our study aimed to explore the experience of parents in the NCU of a rural district hospital in Rwanda.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with parents whose newborns were hospitalized in the Ruli District Hospital NCU from September 2018 to January 2019. In-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured guide in the participants homes by trained data collectors. Data were transcribed, translated, and then coded using a structured code book. All data analyses were conducted using Dedoose software.
Results: Twenty-one interviews were conducted primarily with mothers (90.5%, n=19) among newborns who were most often discharged home alive (90.5%, n=19). Parents reported stressful and emotional responses to having their newborns admitted particularly when they lacked clear understanding of their newborn’s condition, generally positive communication and interactions with healthcare providers and other parents, policies and procedures in the NCU that contributed to stress and limited access to newborns by fathers and other family members, and stress due to the high financial burden of NCU care.
Conclusion: The admission of a newborn into the NCU alone was a source of stress for parents and caregivers in rural Rwanda. However, there were several positive factors of the NCU including involvement of mothers and support from healthcare providers. The experience in the NCU can be improved when healthcare providers communicate and explain the newborn’s status to the parents and actively involve them in the care of their newborn. Expanding the NCU access for families, encouraging peer support, and ensuring financial accessibility for neonatal care services could contribute to improved experiences for families.
KEYWORDS: prematurity, neonatology, family-centered care, neonatal care unit, nurses, patient satisfaction, patient experience
Transition to parenthood in the neonatal care unit: a qualitative study and conceptual model designed to illuminate parent and professional views of the impact of webcam technology
