Neonatal World Conference 2026

Abstract

The impact of family centered care interventions in Nicu

Family centered care (FCC) emphasizes the importance of a family as a fundamental source of support and it considers involvement of family members in all aspects of the patient’s health care (Mikkelsen and Frederiksen, 2011, Shields et al., 2006). It is seen as a holistic care model, but different definitions are used in research and application in health care (Kuo et al., 2012, Mikkelsen and Frederiksen, 2011). FCC is often one term used including wording such as: partnership with parents, patient centered care and family integrated care.FCC focuses on parent experiences and the development of skills for parent problem solving and infant care based on the infant's needs at a particular time (Makris et al., 2019; Samra et al., 2015). Early life experiences for premature infants in the NICU are enhanced through parents' active participation in their infant's care (Als et al., 2004; Samra et al., 2015; Vittner et al., 2018). A study by Oude Maatman et al. (2020) reports that FCC implementation requires a change in mindset and behavior in healthcare professionals to consider parents as primary caregivers. In addition, it shows that it is very important for them to agree on parental engagement in care, to organize the NICU environment to support FCC practices, and to focus on parents’ needs with effective communication (Oude Maatman et al., 2020). 

In conclusion, parental engagement in the newborns care while in the NICU though challenging due to the intense medical attention and interventions, can ease the burden of pain for the parents as they negotiate each day