Action research on relationship centred care (ARRCC Study)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing family-centred care in the neonatal intensive care unit: an action research study
IRAS ID
160797
Contact name
Caryl Skene
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research evidence identifies the benefits of parental involvement in the care of their infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with a link demonstrated between increased parental involvement and reduced length of stay, reduced need for re-hospitalisation, and improved long-term morbidity. Although studies identify the benefits of individual interventions to promote family-centred care, there is a lack of knowledge about how these interventions might be implemented into everyday practice. This pilot study will provide insights into this process of change.
The aim is to develop, implement and evaluate an evidence-based family-centred intervention to promote greater parental involvement in the care of their infant in NICU. A participatory action research approach will be used in which the lead researcher will work with nurses, the MDT and parents to jointly develop the intervention and support the change through the following phases.
The Exploration phase will gain insight into the context in which the intervention will be introduced. Baseline data will include staff and parental satisfaction with care and confidence in caregiving, breastfeeding rates, parent-infant skin-to-skin contact, staff and parents’ perceptions of current parental involvement in care. The findings will be used to inform the development of the intervention.
The Intervention phase will involve up to three action research cycles during which the intervention will be tested and further modified on the basis of feedback from parents and staff. The process of introducing change will be examined.
The Evaluation phase will end the active facilitation of the intervention, which will be sufficiently refined to allow evaluation of its impact. Baseline measures will be repeated in order to identify any changes.
The proposed study will contribute knowledge about how neonatal staff can contribute to a family-centred model of care in which parents are actively involved in the care of their infant on NICU.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/YH/1242
Date of REC Opinion
29 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion