Iranian parent‑staff communication and parental stress in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit
نویسندگان
1 PhD in Nursing, Department of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran,
2 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Student Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4 Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Neurobehavioral Infant and Child Studies, Enders Pediatric Research Laboratories, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
5 Departement of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran,
doi
چکیده
INTRODUCTION: The birth of an infant requiring hospitalization in the neonatal Intensive CareUnit (NICU) uniformly is reported to be stressful for parents and family members. This study aimedto determine parent–staff communication in the NICU and its relationship to parent stress.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and three Iranian parents with preterm infantshospitalized in the NICU participated in this descriptive‑correlational study. The participants wereselected by the quota sampling method. Data collected included a three‑part: questionnaire, thefirst part covered demographic parent and infant information, the second was the Parent–StaffCommunication Scale (the score of which ranged from 0 to 180), and the third was the ParentalStress Scale (the score of which ranged from 0 to 102). Descriptive and inferential statistics includingthe Pearson’s correlation coefficient test were applied to the data, using SPSS software Version 16.RESULTS: This study revealed that fathers and mothers’ stress and communication scores werealmost comparable and both higher than expected. The total mean score of the two main variables,i.e., parent–staff communication and parental stress were, respectively, 100.72 ± 18.89 and75.26 ± 17.6. A significant inverse correlation was found between parental stress and parent–staffcommunication scores (r = −0.144, P = 0.041).CONCLUSIONS: Based on this study finding showed that better parent–staff communication is relatedto lower parent stress scores, it is recommended that nurses and physicians receive specific skill trainingfor the establishment of effective parent–staff communication. It is anticipated that such improved staffskills will help decrease parent stress and therewith likely promote parent and infant health in the NICU.
