Adapting the Six-Part Storymaking Method for use with siblings of infants on the neonatal intensive care unit

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-242
Author(s):  
Rebecca Ann Versaci
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Case Vignette ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Insight Into

When an infant is hospitalized on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) it can have a profound influence on the psychosocial well-being of the infant and their older sibling(s). This article presents a case vignette of the use of the Six-Part Storymaking Method with the sibling of an infant hospitalized on the NICU. The article reviews the therapeutic aims and benefits of the intervention, including: supporting emotional expression, providing opportunity for the sibling to be deeply witnessed by caregivers, therapist and hospital staff, empowering the sibling to inhabit the big sibling role and fostering insight into the sibling’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours as related to their infant’s hospitalization. Considerations for facilitation and assessment are also discussed.

Parent Psychological Distress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Within the Context of the Social Ecological Model: A Scoping Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 495-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy Loewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Family Cohesion ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Well Being

BACKGROUND: Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents are at risk for psychological distress and impaired mental health, and statistics related to parent psychological distress vary. OBJECTIVE: To determine the scope of literature regarding the mental health and psychosocial well-being of parents in the NICU. DESIGN: A scoping review within the Arksey and O’Malley framework and the SEM was undertaken to answer, “What factors contribute to parent’s mental health in the NICU?” A systematic review of the literature was performed using the PRISMA methodology. RESULTS: Common socioeconomic factors and infant and parent characteristics may place parents at a greater risk for developing distress. History of mental illness, family cohesion, birth trauma, altered parenting role, gestational age, birth weight, and severity of prematurity/illness emerged as themes. CONCLUSION: Further research is required to provide a standard for the screening and assessment of parents’ mental health and psychosocial well-being during a NICU hospitalization. The experiences of nonbirth parents in the NICU should be explored to examine the effects of the hospitalization on all types of parents.

Providing Support for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Health Care Professionals: A Bereavement Debriefing Program

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katheleen Hawes ◽  
Justin Goldstein ◽  
Sharon Vessella ◽  
Richard Tucker ◽  
Beatrice E. Lechner
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Close Relationship

Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate formal bereavement debriefing sessions after infant death on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff. Study Design Prospective mixed methods study. Pre- and postbereavement debriefing intervention surveys were sent to clinical staff. Evaluation surveys were distributed to participants after each debriefing session. Notes on themes were taken during each session. Results More staff attended sessions (p < 0.0001) and attended more sessions (p < 0.0001) during the postdebriefing intervention epoch compared with the predebriefing epoch. Stress levels associated with the death of a patient whose family the care provider have developed a close relationship with decreased (p = 0.0123). An increased number of debriefing session participants was associated with infant age at the time of death (p = 0.03). Themes were (1) family and provider relationships, (2) evaluation of the death, (3) team cohesion, (4) caring for one another, and (5) emotional impact. Conclusion Bereavement debriefings for NICU staff reduced the stress of caring for dying infants and contributed to staff well-being. Key Points

Into the NICU

2019 ◽  
pp. 59-88
Author(s):  
Dána-Ain Davis
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
General Population ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Premature Births ◽  
Insight Into

This chapter offers ethnographic insight into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a space that is largely inaccessible to the general population. The chapter describes the physical space of the NICU. Parents reveal how they felt about having their newborn infants admitted to the NICU and the varying degrees of racism that saturated the experiences of some, but not all, parents. Most parents interpret their experience through the lens of medical racism. At the very least they understand that if it were not for a particular mediating factor, such as having a connection to the medical field, they likely would have been subjected to racist medical encounters. This chapter also examines how mostly white neonatologists respond to questions related to race and adverse birth outcomes and finds that, for most, class replaces race as the explanatory factor for understanding premature births.

scholarly journals Neonatal Nurses’ and Therapists’ Perceptions of Positioning for Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cori Zarem ◽  
Tara Crapnell ◽  
Lisa Tiltges ◽  
Laura Madlinger ◽  
Lauren Reynolds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Neonatal Nurses ◽  
Positioning Method ◽  
Main Outcome Variable

Purpose: Determine perceptions about positioning for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Design: Twenty-item survey.Sample: Neonatal nurses (n = 68) and speech, physical, and occupational therapists (n = 8).Main outcome variable: Perceptions about positioning were obtained, and differences in perceptions between nurses and therapists were explored.Results: Ninety-nine percent of respondents agreed that positioning is important for the well-being of the infant. Sixty-two percent of nurses and 86 percent of therapists identified the Dandle ROO as the ideal method of neonatal positioning. Forty-four percent of nurses and 57 percent of therapists reported that the Dandle ROO is the easiest positioning method to use in the NICU. Some perceptions differed: Therapists were more likely to report that the SleepSack does not hold the infant in good alignment. Nurses were more likely to report that the infant does not sleep well in traditional positioning.

scholarly journals Acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Launching Point

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 216495612092464
Author(s):  
Julie Johnson Rolfes ◽  
Kimberly Christensen ◽  
Lynn A Gershan
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Care Providers

Background Because neonatology is a relatively new medical specialty, it is host to on-going, rapid adaptation and evolution of medical treatments and practices. This process has almost exclusively focused on Western, biomedical treatment modalities, without inclusion of potentially beneficial Traditional Chinese Medicine practices. It is unclear how receptive health-care providers in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and families of NICU patients would be to the introduction of adapted Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments into the NICU environment. Objective To assess the potential for engagement of patients, families, and staff in the NICU with Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies and to provide targeted education and low-risk Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments to support the health and well-being of those 3 groups. Methods A feasibility pilot study including weekly walk-in Traditional Chinese Medicine sessions within the NICU for parents and staff, and neonatal patient consultations, both of which included hands-on therapies and education tailored to each participant's unique needs. Pre- and postsurveys were administered over 3 phases. Results Walk-in sessions were attended by 83 adults and participants reported benefits, with no ill effects. There were 5 neonatal consultations with staff expressing an interest in more. Several obstacles to accessing Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities were identified in pre-surveys and were addressed with education and preemptive modifications to the therapies offered. Conclusion Acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities in the NICU opens the door to future studies implementing integrative health services into the NICU care model.

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