No second chance: junior neonatal nurses' experiences of caring for babies at the end-of-life and their families

Death of an infant is acutely stressful for parents and professionals. Little is known about junior nurses' experiences providing end-of-life care in Neonatal units (NNU). This study aimed to better understand junior nurses' experiences providing end-of-life care in NNU. Neonatal nurses (n = 12) with less than 3 years experience participated in a focus group. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to build consensus around the challenges faced, alongside suggested developments in improving future care provision. Primary analysis involved successive rounds of ranking and decision-making whilst secondary analysis involved thematic analysis. All issues, whether environmental, professional or social appeared driven by an awareness on the part of nurses, that there was no ‘second chance’ which created a huge pressure to ‘get if right’ for the infants and families. Regarding future care 2 areas of improvement identified were ‘Education and Training’ and Support. This paper unpacks these findings making recommendations for practice.

The neonatal nurse: advocating for breastfeeding mothers

Accurate information and support from healthcare professionals as well as respect for parental choice are all factors which contribute to effective breastfeeding in the neonatal unit; with this in mind, Colm Darby and Sharon Nurse discuss the potential problems in expressing breast milk and the interventions which might be effective in avoiding them. Advocacy is an inherent part of neonatal nurses' role whilst caring for sick, vulnerable babies. Colm Darby is a male neonatal nurse working in a predominantly female environment and passionately believes in supporting and advocating for mothers who want to provide breast milk for their babies. In this article, CoIm uses Borton's model of reflection to discuss how he acted as an effective advocate for such a mother.

Textbook: Maternal- Neonatal Care made Incredibly Easy!

This textbook is the perfect reference book for students new to midwifery and those studying for exams. The diagrams and explanations are simple and esay to follow

No second chance: the experiences of junior neonatal nurses in providing end-of-life care for babies and families in the NNU

Background

An infant’s death is acutely stressful for parents and professionals. Little is known about junior nurses’ experiences providing end-of-life care in Neonatal Units (NNU).

Objectives

To better understand junior nurses’ experiences providing end-of-life care in NNU, the study explored the challenges and opportunities inherent in their practice relating to providing such care to babies and their families.

Methods

Neonatal nurses (n=12) with less than 3 years’ experience who were undergoing a neonatal education programme participated. Two focus groups were convened each with 6 nurses. The Ethics Committee at the relevant University approved the study. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used in the focus groups to build consensus around the challenges faced by junior nurses, alongside suggested developments in improving future care provision. Primary analysis involved successive rounds of ranking and decision making whilst secondary analysis involved thematic analysis.

Results

The study identified the pressures these nurses felt in having only one chance to ‘get it right’ for the infants and their families. They perceived the need for further ‘education and training’ highlighting that improved education provision would include both additional courses and internal training sessions. Greater ‘support’ from mentors themselves more experienced in this aspect of care within the NNU was identified as important in addressing issues around confidence building and skill development.

Conclusions

The results highlight junior nurses’ need for specific education and mentorship around end-of-life care for babies. This presentation will outline the implications for practice, education and further research.

Tecnologias de informação e registro do processo de enfermagem: estudo de caso em UTI neonatal

v. 18, n.1, jan./mar. 2016.

Pathways to emotional closeness in neonatal units - a cross-national qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Research shows evidence for the importance of physical and emotional closeness for the infant, the parent and the infant-parent dyad. Less is known about how, when and why parents experience emotional closeness to their infants in a neonatal unit (NU), which was the aim of this study. METHODS: A qualitative study using a salutogenic approach to focus on positive health and wellbeing was undertaken in three NUs: one in Sweden, England and Finland. An 'emotional closeness' form was devised, which asked parents to describe moments/situations when, how and why they had felt emotionally close to their infant. Data for 23 parents of preterm infants were analyzed using thematic networks analysis. RESULTS: A global theme of 'pathways for emotional closeness' emerged from the data set. This concept related to how emotional, physical, cognitive and social influences led to feelings of emotional closeness between parents and their infants. The five underpinning organising themes relate to the: Embodied recognition through the power of physical closeness; Reassurance of, and contributing to, infant wellness; Understanding the present and the past; Feeling engaged in the day to day and Spending time and bonding as a family. CONCLUSION: These findings generate important insights into why, how and when parents feel emotionally close. This knowledge contributes to an increased awareness of how to support parents of premature infants to form positive and loving relationships with their infants. Health care staff should create a climate where parents' emotions and their emotional journey are individually supported.

Perceptions of European medical staff on the facilitators and barriers to physical closeness between parents and infants in neonatal units

AIM: Studies have provided insights into factors that may facilitate or inhibit parent-infant closeness in neonatal units, but none have specifically focused on the perspectives of senior neonatal staff. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions and experiences of consultant neonatologists and senior nurses in five European countries with regard to these issues. METHODS: Six small group discussions and three one-to-one interviews were conducted with 16 consultant neonatologists and senior nurses representing nine neonatal units from Estonia, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden. The interviews explored facilitators and barriers to parent-infant closeness and implications for policy and practice and thematic analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: Participants highlighted how a humanising care agenda that enabled parent-infant closeness was an aspiration, but pointed out that neonatal units were at different stages in achieving this. The facilitators and barriers to physical closeness included socio-economic factors, cultural norms, the designs of neonatal units, resource issues, leadership, staff attitudes and practices and relationships between staff and parents. CONCLUSION: Various factors affected parent-infant closeness in neonatal units in European countries. There needs to be the political motivation, appropriate policy planning, legislation and resource allocation to increase measures that support closeness agendas in neonatal units. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Phenobarbital reduces EEG amplitude and propagation of neonatal seizures but does not alter performance of automated seizure detection

Objective: Phenobarbital increases electroclinical uncoupling and our preliminary observations suggest it may also affect electrographic seizure morphology. This may alter the performance of a novel seizure detection algorithm (SDA) developed by our group. The objectives of this study were to compare the morphology of seizures before and after phenobarbital administration in neonates and to determine the effect of any changes on automated seizure detection rates. Methods: The EEGs of 18 term neonates with seizures both pre- and post-phenobarbital (524 seizures) administration were studied. Ten features of seizures were manually quantified and summary measures for each neonate were statistically compared between pre- and post-phenobarbital seizures. SDA seizure detection rates were also compared. Results: Post-phenobarbital seizures showed significantly lower amplitude (p < 0.001) and involved fewer EEG channels at the peak of seizure (p < 0.05). No other features or SDA detection rates showed a statistical difference. Conclusion: These findings show that phenobarbital reduces both the amplitude and propagation of seizures which may help to explain electroclinical uncoupling of seizures. The seizure detection rate of the algorithm was unaffected by these changes. Significance: The results suggest that users should not need to adjust the SDA sensitivity threshold after phenobarbital administration.

Global, regional, national, and selected subnational levels of stillbirths, neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality, 1980–2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

O sistema de Triagem de Manchester e a pessoa com Enfarte Agudo do Miocárdio

O Enfarte Agudo do Miocárdio (EAM) continua a ser uma causa de mortalidade e morbilidade importante na população portuguesa apesar da tendência constante de decréscimo verificada nos últimos anos. Isto deve-se à eficácia das medidas genéricas de prevenção desde a adopção de estilos de vida mais saudáveis à correção dos factores de risco modificáveis, associada a um avanço significativo na terapêutica de revascularização. O objetivo geral do nosso estudo foi avaliar as caraterísticas sociodemográficas e clínicas do doente com Enfarte Agudo do Miocárdio e relacioná-las com a classificação de risco efetuada aquando da triagem pelo STM. Trata-se de estudo retrospetivo com abordagem quantitativa, do tipo exploratório, descritivo e analítico. A recolha dos dados foi realizada através do Software ALERT®. Foram incluídos todos os doentes que deram entrada no serviço de urgência do CHUC - HUC a quem foi diagnosticado Enfarte Agudo do Miocárdio no período compreendido entre 01 de janeiro de 2010 e 31 de dezembro de 2012, num total de 1133 casos. A população é coincidente com a amostra. A maioria dos doentes com EAM era do sexo masculino, com idade superior a 72 anos, vindos do domicílio, acompanhados por bombeiro ou familiar; 62,7% foram triados por ?dor torácica?, pedido ECG e atribuída uma prioridade emergente/muito urgente, ficaram internados na UCIC por um período de 3 a 9 dias e 72,9% regressou a casa. O STM mostrou-se sensível no que concerne ao grupo etário e ao sexo, foi capaz de fazer a distinção entre: doentes que tinham alta e baixa probabilidade de morrer; indivíduos que ficaram hospitalizados e aqueles que tiveram alta. É efectivo para classificar casos graves de dor torácica típica, resultando numa intervenção rápida e consequente redução da mortalidade e morbilidade dos doentes.

La Prematuridad, retardo del crecimiento intrauterino y asfixia neonatal como factores de riesgo asociados a retraso del desarrollo psicomotor en niños/as menores de seis meses de vida, Fundación Pablo Jaramillo Crespo, 2007

Metodología: el diseño metodológico utilizado fue de casos y controles con pareamiento doble (edad y sexo) e incluyó a niños/as menores de seis meses que fueron atendidos en consulta externa de la Fundación Pablo Jaramillo de Cuenca entre julio y octubre de 2007. El universo fue infinito y homogéneo, con muestra probabilística (74 casos y 148 controles). El desarrollo psicomotor se valoró con el test de Brunet-Lézine. El análisis estadístico se basó en Odds ratios crudos y Odds ratios ajustados. Resultados: los factores con asociación significativa al retraso del desarrollo psicomotor fueron, en el análisis bivariado, la prematuridad (OR 2.5, IC 951.2-5.1, p 0.009), peso al nacimiento menor a 2500 g (OR 10.6, IC 954.3-26.0, p 0.000), desnutrición posnatal (OR 12.1, IC 954.4-33.6, p 0.000), perímetro cefálico pequeño para la edad posnatal (OR 3.2, IC 951.4-7.7, p 0.006), talla baja para la edad posnatal (OR 4.2, IC 951.9-9.2, p 0.000) y condición neurológica anormal (OR 11.3, IC 955.8-21.8, p 0.000). En la regresión logística, la prematuridad (OR 2.6, IC 951.2-5.8, p 0.015) ajustada por los factores perinatales, la desnutrición posnatal (OR 35.4, IC951.2-1024.1, p 0.038) y la anormalidad en la condición neurológica (OR 8.5, 4.0-18.2, p 0.000) ajustadas por los factores perinatales y posnatales. Conclusiones: los factores de riesgo significativos asociados al retraso del desarrollo psicomotor fueron la prematuridad ajustada por factores perinatales, la desnutrición posnatal y la anormalidad en la condición neurológica ajustadas por los factores perinatales y posnatales

Diagnostico precoz de la inmunodeficiencia severa combinada: es un candidato a incluir en los programas de cribado neonatal?

Inmunodeficiencia Combinada Severa (SCID): Se caracteriza por una ausencia o muy baja concentración de células T funcionales, en muchos casos combinada con una deficiencia cuantitativa de células B y/o NK.

G181(P) Evaluation of a new e-health intervention in neonatal care : perspectives of parents and health professionals.

Aim This paper will report findings from the first phase of an evaluation of a new e-health intervention designed to allow mothers to ‘see’ their baby in neonatal care (NNU) when they are not able to be with them. The intervention, MyLittleOne, involves a web-camera being placed over the incubator in NNU, which transmits a real-time video wirelessly to a coupled tablet device at the mother’s bedside. Guided by the MRC Framework for the Development and Evaluation of Healthcare Interventions (MRC, 2008), the aim was to explore parent and professional views of the technology and make recommendations for its future development, use and evaluation. Methods A qualitative approach was adopted, guided by a critical realist perspective (McEvoy and Richards, 2003). The study took place in a Level 3 NNU in Scotland. Participants were recruited purposively and included parents (n = 33) and a range of health professionals working in neonatal and postnatal care (n = 21). The data were collected during semi-structured individual, paired and small group interviews and were analysed thematically using NVivo v10. Results The majority of parents and professionals spoke positively about MyLittleOne. Perceptions were that: use of the technology assisted bonding and responsiveness; it promoted the recovery process following birth; and, for mothers who wished to breast-feed, being able to see their baby on the tablet device encouraged the ‘let-down’ reflex. An additional benefit was that siblings and others who may not be able to visit the NNU were able to see the baby. In contrast, for a small number of mothers, viewing their baby remotely appeared to increase their levels of anxiety. Switching off the camera during a medical procedure and back on after the procedure was completed was found to be problematic, at times and in different ways, for both parents and professionals. Conclusions Findings from this preliminary evaluation will guide future developments of the technology, including its use in family homes following the mother’s discharge. The findings will also inform the design of a feasibility study and subsequent RCT to assess the impact of MyLittleOne on a range of psychological indicators of postnatal adjustment.