Abstract
Objectives
To explore the opinions and beliefs of physicians about integrating families into the care system of hospitalized preterm neonates.
Methods
The setting was Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a tertiary care center in North India. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with the physicians using a pre-validated FGD topic guide. The FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed. The meanings were drawn, and dependability was ensured. Themes and sub-themes were generated and finalized with a common consensus.
Results
Five FGDs were conducted involving 28 physicians. The physicians opined that making families a part of the care system has several benefits, though they brought out some concerns. They opined that involving parents gives them confidence and satisfaction as they get empowered about neonatal care at the hospital and home after discharge. They reported difficulties in communication due to perceived inadequacy in counseling skills, language barriers and literacy levels of families, and lack of adequate time due to clinical overload. They identified nurses and public health nurses as an important bridge between physicians and families, and peer support as a useful facilitator. They suggested that role assignments to team members, training in counseling and communication, improving the comfort of parents and organizing information in easy-to-understand audio- visual content can help improve the family integration.
Conclusions
The physicians highlighted practical barriers, facilitators, and remedial measures to effectively integrate the families into the care system of preterm hospitalized neonates. There is a need to address the concerns of all stakeholders including the physicians for successful implementation of family integration.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to all the physicians who spared their valuable time to participate and share their opinions in the focus group discussions.
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GK: Conception of the idea, formulation of theoretical framework and collection of data; SKS: Verified the analytical methods and wrote the research paper; BK: Organised the data, verified the analytical methods and wrote the research paper; PK: Evaluated the research work during each stage of the study and proofed the outline. PK will act as the guarantor for this manuscript.
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Kalyan, G., Saini, S.K., Kumari, B. et al. Opinion and Beliefs of Physicians about Integrating Families into the Care System of Preterm Hospitalized Neonates- A Qualitative Experience. Indian J Pediatr 91, 351–357 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04691-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04691-w