Emotional stress ; Family nursing ; Intensive care units, neonatal ; Parents ; Visitors to patients
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between a flexible parental visiting environment and parental
stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Methods: The study participants included 60 parents of premature infants in
NICUs. Structured questionnaires and interviews, as well as observations by researchers using a caregiving behavior checklist,
were used to measure the flexibility of the parental visiting environment and parents' stress levels. Quantitative and qualitative
data were collected concurrently and were initially analyzed as separate data sets. Data collection extended from March 11, 2018
to June 30. 2018 and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and
Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: There was a negative correlation (r=-.30, p=.021) between parental stress and the total
number of visits in 7 days. We also found that the average duration of each visit and the number of caregiving behaviors
performed by parents were positively correlated (r=.73, p<.001). Conclusion: When designing a flexible visiting environment for
parents, parents should be encouraged to visit their babies. By doing so, stress can be reduced both for babies and for parents.
Therefore, it is suggested that the related polices and regulations in South Korea should be changed to provide more a flexible
visiting environment to promote better parent-child attachment and family adjustment.