Nurses’ Opinions on the Barriers to Effective Implementation of Developmental Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Background: Theimplementationof developmentalcareinneonatalintensivecareunit(NICU)savesneonates’ energyandstabilizestheirphysiology,reducesstressinthemandtheirfamily,anddecreaseshospitalizationtimeandhealthcarecosts. Theroleof aneonatalnurseiscrucialforanappropriateandsuccessfulexecutionof developmentalcareinNICU.Thisstudywasconductedto evaluatenurses’ opinionsonbarrierstoeffectiveimplementationof developmentalcareinNICUsof TehranUniversityof Medical Sciences. Methods: Thiswasacross-sectionalstudycarriedoutonatotalof ۱۳۸nurseswhohadaminimumworkexperienceof sixmonths in NICUs. Data collecting tool was a ۱۲-point questionnaire including questions related to ۵ core measures of developmental care accordingtoCoughlin’sframeworkaswellasquestionsassociatedwithbarriersbasedonastudybyWu.Descriptiveandanalytical statisticswereusedfordataanalysis. Results: Themeanagefor۱۳۸nurseswas۳۱.۷۶±۵.۴۱years(۲۳-۴۹years). ThemeanworkhistoryintheNICUwas۴.۳۶±۳.۵۸years. Of all nurses, ۷۹.۷% were found to be familiar with developmental care practice. Among participants, ۵۶.۴% mentioned most part of theirfamiliaritywithdevelopmentalcare; nursesmostlygainedfamiliaritywithdevelopmentalcareviainformationexchange withnurse colleagues. Themajority of participantsdescribed thatinadequatetime, inappropriate workenvironmentin termsof spaceandequipmentof NICU,andtoomanyrequestsbyparentsweremajorbarrierstodeliver۵coremeasuresof developmental careinNICUs. Conclusions: Theimplementationof developmentalcarewashamperedbyseriousbarriers. Keywords: Barriers,DevelopmentalCare,NeonatalIntensiveCareUnit(NICU)