Grandmothers on the neonatal intensive care unit- ethnographic study.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
On uncertain ground: Grandmothers on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit -an ethnographic study
IRAS ID
169940
Contact name
Hilary Lumsden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Wolverhampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
With the exception of McHaffie’s (1991; 1992) work, the majority of research in this area emanates from Europe (Hall, 2004; Frisman et al 2012) with there being no British perspective of the grandmother with a sick neonate. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand how roles and emotion interact when grandmothers have sick grandchildren on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the UK.
What is not known is the culture of being a grandmother of a grandchild who is on the NICU or what the barriers are in becoming a grandmother. What has not been examined is the positioning of grandmothers within the cultural context of the NICU. The potential benefits to participants would be immediate, giving them the opportunity to talk about their experiences in a confidential and convenient setting. By being involved in a study of this nature, grandmothers will understand that they have the potential to help other grandmothers in the future. The potential contribution to practice is to heighten the awareness of grandmothers amongst the staff and of the support grandmothers can offer the parents of the sick neonate. I am interested in gaining an insight into the role of grandmothers of sick or premature babies and their role in Family Centred Care (FCC) within the NICU. In researching this little known area it is envisaged that a change in neonatal staff’s understanding of the role of grandmothers could further enhance FCC in the NICU.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0304
Date of REC Opinion
2 Nov 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion