Premature infants ; Mothers ; Patient discharge ; Social support ; Neonatal intensive care units
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate partnerships with nurses, social support and readiness for discharge
among mothers of premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to examine the factors associated with
readiness for discharge. Methods: A survey was conducted among 85 mothers of premature infants hospitalized in a NICU in
Seoul, Korea. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’
correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression using SPSS version 25.0. Results: The results of the regression analysis
showed that partnerships with nurses (β=.32, p=.011) and parenting experience (β=.32, p=.001) were significantly associated with
readiness for discharge. Conclusion: To improve the readiness for discharge among mothers of premature infants, developing
strategies to strengthen their partnership with nurses and to provide family-centered care will be needed.