Parents’ Pandemic NICU Experience in the United States: A Qualitative Study

Background Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) frequently reported high levels of stress, uncertainty, and decreased parenting confidence. Early research has demonstrated that parents have had less access to their infants in the hospital due to restrictions on parental presence secondary to the pandemic. It is unknown how parents have perceived their experiences in the NICU since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of parents who had an infant in the NICU in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform healthcare providers and policy makers for future development of policies and care planning. Methods The study design was a qualitative description of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ experiences of having an infant in the NICU. Free-text responses to open-ended questions were collected as part of a multi-method study of parents’ experiences of the NICU during the first six months of the pandemic. Participants from the United States were recruited using social media platforms between the months of May and July of 2020. Data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic approach. Findings Free-text responses came from 169 parents from 38 different states in the United States. Three broad themes emerged from the analysis: (1) parents’ NICU experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic were emotionally isolating and overwhelming, (2) policy changes restricting parental presence created disruptions to the family unit and limited family-centered care, and (3) interactions with NICU providers intensified or alleviated emotional distress felt by parents. A unifying theme of experiences of emotional distress attributed to COVID-19 circumstances ran through all three themes. Conclusions Parents of infants in the NICU during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced emotional struggles, feelings of isolation, lack of family-centered care, and deep disappointment with system-level decisions. Moving forward, parents need to be considered essential partners in the development of policies concerning care of and access to their infants. Background The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented conditions for administrators and clinicians working in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and greatly affected parents of infants requiring hospitalization. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of infants admitted to a NICU reported high levels of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and decreased parenting confidence when compared to parents of healthy full-term infants [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Approximately 28–40% of mothers of infants admitted to a NICU were diagnosed with a new mental illness, such as depression or perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder [7]. Fathers of infants requiring NICU hospitalization also reported significant stress and need for reassurance and support [8, 9]

Associations among unit leadership and unit climates for implementation in acute care: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Nurse managers have a pivotal role in fostering unit climates supportive of implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) in care delivery. EBP leadership behaviors and competencies of nurse managers and their impact on practice climates are widely overlooked in implementation science. The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of nurse manager EBP leadership behaviors and nurse manager EBP competencies in explaining unit climates for EBP implementation in adult medical-surgical units. Methods A multi-site, multi-unit cross-sectional research design was used to recruit the sample of 24 nurse managers and 553 randomly selected staff nurses from 24 adult medical-surgical units from 7 acute care hospitals in the Northeast and Midwestern USA. Staff nurse perceptions of nurse manager EBP leadership behaviors and unit climates for EBP implementation were measured using the Implementation Leadership Scale and Implementation Climate Scale, respectively. EBP competencies of nurse managers were measured using the Nurse Manager EBP Competency Scale. Participants were emailed a link to an electronic questionnaire and asked to respond within 1 month. The contributions of nurse manager EBP leadership behaviors and competencies in explaining unit climates for EBP implementation were estimated using mixed-effects models controlling for nurse education and years of experience on current unit and accounting for the variability across hospitals and units. Significance level was set at α < .05. Results Two hundred sixty-four staff nurses and 22 nurse managers were included in the final sample, representing 22 units in 7 hospitals. Nurse manager EBP leadership behaviors (p < .001) and EBP competency (p = .008) explained 52.4% of marginal variance in unit climate for EBP implementation. Leadership behaviors uniquely explained 45.2% variance. The variance accounted for by the random intercepts for hospitals and units (p < .001) and years of nursing experience in current unit (p < .05) were significant but level of nursing education was not. Conclusion Nurse managers are significantly related to unit climates for EBP implementation primarily through their leadership behaviors. Future implementation studies should consider the leadership of nurse managers in creating climates supportive of EBP implementation.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143195/1/13012_2018_Article_753.pd

Endocrinologic, neurologic, and visual morbidity after treatment for craniopharyngioma

Craniopharyngiomas are locally aggressive tumors which typically are focused in the sellar and suprasellar region near a number of critical neural and vascular structures mediating endocrinologic, behavioral, and visual functions. The present study aims to summarize and compare the published literature regarding morbidity resulting from treatment of craniopharyngioma. We performed a comprehensive search of the published English language literature to identify studies publishing outcome data of patients undergoing surgery for craniopharyngioma. Comparisons of the rates of endocrine, vascular, neurological, and visual complications were performed using Pearson’s chi-squared test, and covariates of interest were fitted into a multivariate logistic regression model. In our data set, 540 patients underwent surgical resection of their tumor. 138 patients received biopsy alone followed by some form of radiotherapy. Mean overall follow-up for all patients in these studies was 54 ± 1.8 months. The overall rate of new endocrinopathy for all patients undergoing surgical resection of their mass was 37% (95% CI = 33–41). Patients receiving GTR had over 2.5 times the rate of developing at least one endocrinopathy compared to patients receiving STR alone or STR + XRT (52 vs. 19 vs. 20%, χ2P < 0.00001). On multivariate analysis, GTR conferred a significant increase in the risk of endocrinopathy compared to STR + XRT (OR = 3.45, 95% CI = 2.05–5.81, P < 0.00001), after controlling for study size and the presence of significant hypothalamic involvement. There was a statistical trend towards worse visual outcomes in patients receiving XRT after STR compared to GTR or STR alone (GTR = 3.5% vs. STR 2.1% vs. STR + XRT 6.4%, P = 0.11). Given the difficulty in obtaining class 1 data regarding the treatment of this tumor, this study can serve as an estimate of expected outcomes for these patients, and guide decision making until these data are available

Integrating Neonatal Intensive Care Into a Family Birth Center: Describing the Integrated NICU (I-NIC)

BACKGROUND: Parent-infant separation resulting from admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is often reported as the most challenging and distressing experience for parents. Aiming to mitigate the stress of parent-infant separation, a new neonatal care model was designed to integrate NIC with delivery and postpartum care. Yet, little is known about the model and its implementation. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive design with field observations, we describe the characteristics of an integrated-neonatal intensive care (I-NIC) model and examined perceptions of clinical staff (n = 8) and parents (n = 3). RESULTS: The physical layout of the I-NIC rooms required additional oxygen and suction columns and new signage to specify them as NICU-equipped. Other NICU-related equipment was mobile, thus moved into rooms when necessary. Nurses were cross-trained in labor/delivery, postpartum, neonatal care; however, nurses primarily worked within their specific area of expertise. Clinician and parent perceptions of the model were notably positive, reporting decreased anxiety related to separation, increased ability for chest feeding and skin-to-skin care, and improved interdisciplinary care. CONCLUSION: Future work is needed to understand implementation of the model in other settings, with specific attention to unit architecture, level of NICU care services, patient census, and staff and patient outcomes

Preparing Nursing Contexts for Evidence‐Based Practice Implementation: Where Should We Go From Here?

BackgroundContext is important to the adoption and sustainability of evidence‐based practices (EBPs). Currently, most published implementation efforts address context in relation to one specific EBP or a bundle of related EBPs. Since EBP and implementation are ongoing and dynamic, more discussion is needed on preparing nursing contexts to be more conducive to implementation generally.AimTo discuss the need to create contexts that are more adaptable to ongoing change due to the dynamic nature of EBPs and the ever‐changing healthcare environment.MethodsThis paper builds on a collection of our previous work, as nursing implementation scientists representing the Canadian and American healthcare contexts, and a literature review of the implementation science, knowledge translation, and sustainability literatures from 2006 to 2019.ResultsWe argue for a different way of thinking about the influence of context and implementation of EBPs. We contend that nursing contexts must be prepared to be more flexible and conducive to ongoing EBP implementation more generally. Contexts that embrace, facilitate, and have the capacity for change may be more likely to effectively de‐implement ineffective interventions or implement and sustain new EBPs. We outline future directions to build a program of research on preparing the soil for implementation of EBPs, including building capacity among nurses, supporting organizations to embrace change, co‐producing research evidence, and contributing to implementation science.Linking Evidence to ActionSupporting contexts to adopt and sustain evidence in nursing practice is essential for bridging the evidence to practice gap and improving outcomes for patients, clinicians, and the health system. Moving forward, we need to develop a better understanding of how to create contexts that embrace change prior to the implementation of EBPs in order sustain improvements to patient and health system outcomes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167493/1/wvn12487_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167493/2/wvn12487.pd

Elucidating the context for implementing nonpharmacologic care for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome: a qualitative study of perinatal nurses

Abstract Background Up to 95% of neonates exposed to opioids in utero experience neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome at birth. Nonpharmacologic approaches (e.g., breastfeeding; rooming-in; skin-to-skin care) are evidence-based and should be implemented. These approaches, especially breastfeeding, rely on engagement of the neonates’ mothers to help deliver them. However, little is known about the structural and social dynamic context barriers and facilitators to implementing maternal-delivered nonpharmacologic care. Methods Using a qualitative descriptive design, perinatal nurses from a Midwest United States hospital family birthing center, neonatal intensive care unit, and inpatient pediatric unit were interviewed. These units were involved in caring for mothers and neonates affected by opioid use. Telephone interviews followed a semi-structured interview guide developed for this study, were audio-recorded, and lasted about 30–60 min. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and independently analyzed by five investigators using the constant comparative method. Themes were discussed until reaching consensus and subsequently mapped to a conceptual model adapted for this study. Results Twenty-one nurses participated in this study (family birth center, n = 9; neonatal intensive care, n = 6; pediatrics, n = 6). Analysis resulted in four major themes: 1) Lack of education and resources provided to staff and mothers; 2) Importance of interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary care coordination; 3) Flexibility in nurse staffing models for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome; and 4) Unit architecture and layout affects maternal involvement. Minor themes supported each of the four major themes. All themes mapped to the conceptual model. Conclusions This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the barriers and facilitators affecting implementation of maternal involvement in nonpharmacologic care of newborns with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Future efforts implementing nonpharmacologic approaches must consider the context factors affecting implementation, including structural and social factors within the units, hospital, and broader community.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/173644/1/12887_2021_Article_2955.pd

Unit Leadership and Climates for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation in Acute Care:A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

PurposeThe purposes of this study were to (a) describe nurse manager (NM) leadership behaviors for evidenceâ based practice, NM evidenceâ based practice competencies, and unit climates for evidenceâ based practice implementation in acute care, and (b) test for differences in NMsâ and staff nursesâ (RNsâ ) perceptions.DesignA multisite crossâ sectional design was used to collect data from a sample of 24 NMs and 553 RNs from 24 adult medicalâ surgical units in seven U.S. community hospitals.MethodsResponses were collected using electronic questionnaires, inclusive of the Nurse Manager Evidenceâ Based Practice Competency Scale (NM only), Implementation Leadership Scale, and Implementation Climate Scale. Eâ mail reminders and gift card lottery drawings encouraged response. Descriptive statistics described total and subscale scores by role. Differences in perceptions were evaluated using independent tâ tests with Bonferroni correction (α = .05).Findings23 NMs and 287 RNs responded (95.8% and 51.9% response rates, respectively). NMs reported they were â somewhat competentâ in evidenceâ based practice (M = 1.62 [SD = 0.5]; 0â 3 scale). NMs and RNs perceived leadership behaviors (NM: M = 2.73 [SD = 0.46]; RN: M = 2.88 [SD = 0.78]; 0â 4 scale) and unit climates for evidenceâ based practice implementation (NM: M = 2.16 [SD = 0.67]; RN: M = 2.24 [SD = 0.74]; 0â 4 scale) as evident to a â moderate extent.â RN and NM perceptions differed significantly on the Proactive (p = .01) and Knowledgeable (p < .001) leadership subscales.ConclusionsEvidenceâ based practice competencies and leadership behaviors of NMs, and unit climates for evidenceâ based practice were modest at best and interventions are needed. To close the research to practice gap, future studies should investigate the interplay between social dynamic context factors and implementation strategies to promote uptake of evidenceâ based practices.Clinical RelevanceCritical attention is needed to build organizational capacity for evidenceâ based practices through development of unit leadership and climate for evidenceâ based practice to accelerate routine use of evidenceâ based practices for improving care delivery and patient outcomes. The three instruments described herein provide a foundation for nurse leaders to assess these dynamic context factors and design interventions or programs where there is opportunity for improvement.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147812/1/jnu12452.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147812/2/jnu12452_am.pd

Impacts of Neonatal Hospitalization on Families during the 2019 Coronavirus Pandemic

Objective Limited data are available regarding family and financial well-being among parents whose infants were hospitalized during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The study objective was to evaluate the family and financial well-being of parents whose infants were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during COVID-19. Study Design Parents were recruited for this online, cross-sectional survey via support groups on social media. Data collection was completed between May 18, 2020 and July 31, 2020. The final sample consisted of 178 parents, who had an infant hospitalized in an NICU between February 1, 2020 and July 31, 2020. The primary outcomes were impact on family life and financial stability, as measured by the Impact on Family scale, an instrument that evaluates changes to family life as a result of infant or childhood illness. Results Of the 178 parent respondents, 173 (97%) were mothers, 107 (59.4%) were non-Hispanic White, and 127 (69.5%) of the infants were born prematurely. Parents reported significant family impact and greater financial difficulty. Extremely premature infants, lower household income, parent mental health, and lower parental confidence were predictive of greater impacts on family life. Conclusion Parents reported significant family and financial impacts during their infant\u27s hospitalization amid COVID-19. Further studies are needed to guide clinical practice and inform family-supportive resources that can mitigate consequences to family well-being

Perceptual differences in nursing implementation leadership and climate: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The literature on perceptual differences between managers and staff regarding social dynamic factors (e.g., leadership, climate) in nursing settings is sparse. Addressing this gap in knowledge is critical for informing implementation efforts and improving patient and organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test the perceptual differences regarding implementation leadership and implementation climate between nursing staff and their managers. Methods This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data collected in 2016–2017. The setting included 22 adult medical-surgical units nested in 7 acute care hospitals in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Participants were registered nurses (N = 261) and nurse managers (N = 22) who completed an electronic survey consisting of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS), the Implementation Climate Scale (ICS), and demographic items. Differences in perception were analyzed at the unit level using structural equation modeling to develop latent difference score models (LDS). We assessed associations of the LDSs with manager ILS and ICS scores, years of nursing experience, and years of experience working on the current unit. The association of ILS LDS with the observed nursing staff ICS scores was also analyzed. Results Higher manager scores on the ILS and ICS were associated with greater perceptual differences in implementation leadership and implementation climate. Greater years of experience as a nurse were associated with greater perceptual differences in ILS and ICS scores. Greater tenure on the unit was associated with smaller differences on the ILS knowledge domain. Greater perceptual differences regarding implementation leadership were associated with worse staff ratings of implementation climate. Conclusions Although this study observed significant relationships among manager ILS and ICS scores, staff-manager perceptual differences, and staff ratings of implementation climate in nursing settings, it is still unclear why perceptual differences in implementation leadership and climate exist and how to address them. Future studies are warranted to test the effect of perceptual differences on implementation and patient outcomes