Parents+ provides a Pathway for Family Centered Care (PS2a)

Abstract Text: H-HOPE (Hospital to Home: Optimizing the Preterm Infant Environment) is an integrated behavioral intervention for preterm infants and their parents. Parents+, the parent directed component of H-HOPE, supports parent presence, participation, and parent-infant interaction. During educational sessions, nurses (and other clinicians) use participatory guidance and experiential learning to help parents understand their preterm infant’s behaviors and learn to offer Massage+, the infant-directed component of H-HOPE. Parents+ focuses on building a collaborative nurse-parent relationship as opposed to the usual didactic teaching, which transfers information and skill in one direction only. Each session begins by establishing a collaborative relationship while acknowledging the high stress parents’ experience and recognizing the parents’ unique knowledge about their infant. Information sharing initiates a collaborative exchange about preterm infant behaviors and cues that adds to parents’ knowledge and helps them read, interpret and respond to their infant’s behavior. Every session ends with addressing parents’ concerns. Parents+ provides session guides and videos that show nurses how to provide Parents+ and build nurse-parent communication skills. Focusing on the parents reinforces nurse-parent collaboration and enhances mutual respect and dignity, a primary component of Family Centered Care (FCC). A strong evidence base documents that H-HOPE improves infant growth and development, parent confidence in caregiving, and parent-infant interaction. H-HOPE supports implementation and sustainment of FCC by strengthening nurse skills to engage parents and fostering parent-nurse partnerships. Integrating H-HOPE into existing NICU practices is one strategy to support unit culture to embrace the inclusion of parents.

Needs Assessment and Presentation Description: Nurses provide care to infants and parents twenty four hours per day seven days a week. Nurses also have the expertise about individual infants that are needed by parents. Parents+ supports parent presence, participation in care and parent-infant interaction through evidence-based strategies. During educational sessions, nurses use participatory guidance and experiential learning to help parents understand their preterm infant’s behaviors and learn to offer Massage+. Parents+ focuses on building a collaborative nurse-parent relationship and enhances mutual respect and dignity, a primary component of Family Centered Care.