Overcoming voids in communication and decision making amongst caretakers and healthcare providers in the nicu

Introduction: Parents’ need for communication, is not always met by the NICU staff, and when parents feel dissatisfied with their communication with the staff, their stress and anxiety increase and they find it more difficult to establish a close relationship to their child.This study focuses on the deficiencies and obstacles faced by the primary care takers of the neonates admitted in the NICU and the treating doctors.
Materials and methods: The aim of the study was to identify issues leading to discordant relationship between the caretakers of the patient and health care providers in the NICU.A time bound observational study was done over a period of 38 days at the neonatal intensive care unit of A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore. Parents as well as doctors rated their experiences of communication and stay in the NICU through a questionnaire delineating good interpersonal relations between the doctor and the patient.
Results: A convenience sample of 47 caretakers and 25 doctors agreed to participate in the study. Data collected from the caretakers consisted of 72 completely filled questionnaires. Significant problem areas for the caretakers were found to be regarding the visitation timings in NICU and their involvement in decision making while amongst the doctors it was found to be the lack of security and non-availability of a social worker.
Conclusion: Our study shows that there are many areas in which we can improve ourselves in order to avoid discordant relationship between doctors and patients.