Grace Centre for Newborn Care, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, Australia.
Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
PLoS One. 2020 May 6;15(5):e0232190. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232190. eCollection 2020.
Fathers of infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) play an important role and have individual needs that are often not recognised. While there is considerable evidence regarding mothers' needs in the NICU, information about fathers' is particularly limited. This study identifies the needs of fathers of newborns admitted to NICU for general surgery of major congenital anomalies, and whether health-care professionals meet these needs.
Forty-eight fathers of infants admitted for surgery between February 2014 and September 2015 were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Fathers completed the Neonatal Family Needs Inventory comprising 56 items in 5 subscales (Support, Comfort, Information, Proximity, Assurance) at admission and discharge and whether these needs were met; as well as the Social Desirability Scale.
Responses showed Assurance was the most important subscale (M 3.8, SD .26). Having questions answered honestly (M 3.9, SD .20) and knowing staff provide comfort to their infant (M 3.94, SD .24) were fathers' most important needs. By discharge, fathers expressed a greater importance on being recognised and more involved in their infant's care. More than 91% indicated their ten most important needs were met by the NICU health-care professionals, with no significant changes at discharge. Clergical visits (M 2.08, SD 1.21) were least important.
Reassurance is a priority for fathers of neonates in a surgical NICU, particularly regarding infant pain management and comfort. It is important that health-care professionals provide reliable, honest information and open-access visiting. Notably, fathers seek greater recognition of their role in the NICU-beyond being the 'other' parent.
新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）中婴儿的父亲起着重要作用，他们有个人需求，但这些需求往往未得到认可。虽然有大量关于 NICU 中母亲需求的证据，但关于父亲需求的信息特别有限。本研究确定了接受重大先天性畸形普通外科手术的新生儿重症监护病房中新生儿父亲的需求，以及医疗保健专业人员是否满足这些需求。
2014 年 2 月至 2015 年 9 月期间，对 48 名接受手术的婴儿的父亲进行了前瞻性队列研究。父亲在入院和出院时完成了新生儿家庭需求清单，该清单包括 56 个项目，分为 5 个分量表（支持、安慰、信息、亲近、保证），并回答了这些需求是否得到满足；以及社会期望量表。
调查结果显示，保证是最重要的分量表（M 3.8，SD.26）。父亲最重要的需求是诚实地回答问题（M 3.9，SD.20）和知道工作人员能给他们的婴儿带来安慰（M 3.94，SD.24）。出院时，父亲更强调自己得到认可并更多地参与到婴儿的护理中。超过 91%的人表示，他们的前 10 个最重要的需求得到了新生儿重症监护病房医疗保健专业人员的满足，出院时没有明显变化。神职人员的探访（M 2.08，SD 1.21）是最不重要的。
对于外科新生儿重症监护病房中的新生儿父亲来说，安慰是重中之重，特别是关于婴儿疼痛管理和舒适感。医疗保健专业人员提供可靠、诚实的信息和开放探视是很重要的。值得注意的是，父亲希望在新生儿重症监护病房中得到更多的认可——不仅仅是作为“另一位”家长。
