Improving Communication Between Health Care Professionals and Parents: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Abstract

This quality improvement initiative was undertaken in a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to improve communication between the HCP and parents related to the sick neonates admitted in NICU as measured by increase in parental satisfaction score from base line (34.5%) to 80% in 3 months time. A team was formulated to evaluate the reasons for low parental satisfaction resulting from communication between HCP and the parents of sick neonates and to further plan strategies for improving the same. Multiple PDSA cycles were implemented. The results of the all PDSA cycles were discussed amongst team members. Satisfaction of parents related to communication with HCP increased to more than 80% in 3 months time followed by increase up to 90% in sustenance phase. Multiple simple feasible interventions led to improvement in communication between the HCP and parents as evident by increase in satisfaction score (40.8 ± 4.3 vs. 40.8 ± 4.3 vs. 91.3 ± 4.8, p < 0.001). There was significant improvement in the satisfaction scores of the mothers on communication related to sick neonate in NICU at the end of intervention phase as well as in the sustenance phase. Multiple simple doable and feasible interventions had led to the improvement in communication between the HCP and parents hence improving the satisfaction of parents related to their communication with HCP.

  • Page Number : 1-9

  • Keywords
    Communication, Satisfaction, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Quality improvement (QI)

  • DOI Number
    https://doi.org/10.15415/jmrh.2017.41001

  • Authors
    Poonam Joshi, Meena Joshi, Aakansha Sharma, Anu Sachdeva, Rajesh Sagar, Ashok Kumar Deorari

References

  • Alderson P, Hawthorne J, Killen M. Parents’ experiences of sharing neonatal information and decisions: Consent, cost and risk. Soc Sci Med. 2006; 62: 1319–29.
  • Yee W, Ross S. Communicating with parents of high-risk infants in neonatal intensive care. Paediatr Child Health. 2006 May; 11(5): 291–294.
  • Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes. Behrman RE, Butler AS, eds. Preterm birth: Causes, consequences, and prevention. Washington: National Academies Press (US), 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.17226/11622.
  • Fishering R, Broeder JL, Donze A. A qualitative study: NICU nurses as NICU parents. Adv Neonatal Care 2016;16(1):74–86. http://dx.doi. org/110.1097/anc.0000000000000221 3.
  • Chourasia N, Surianarayanan P, Adhisivam B, Vishnu Bhat B. NICU admissions and maternal stress levels. Indian J Pediatr 2013;80(5):380–384. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12098-012-0921-7 4.
  • Bastani F, Abadi TA, Haghani H. Effect of family-centred care on improving parental satisfaction and reducing readmission among premature infants: A randomized controlled trial. J Clin Diagn Res 2015;9(1):SC04–8. http://dx.doi. org/10.7860/jcdr/2015/10356.5444 5.
  • Blackington SM, Mclauchlan T. Continuous quality improvement in the neonatal intensive care unit: Evaluating parent satisfaction. J Nurs Care Qual 1995;9(4):78–85. http://dx.doi. org/10.1097/00001786-199507000-0001.
  • Ranchod T, Ballot DE, Martinez AM, Cory BJ, Davies VA, Partridge JC. Parental perception of neonatal intensive care in public sector hospitals in South Africa. S Afr Med J 2004;94(11):913–916.
  • Kowalski WJ, Leef KH, Mackley A, Spear ML, Paul DA. Communicating with parents of premature infants: Who is the informant? J Perinatol. 2006; 26:44–8.
  • Abel-Boone H, Dokecki PR, Smith MS. Parent and health care provider communication and decision making in the intensive care nursery. Child Health Care. 1989;18:133–41.
  • Vijver van de Margret, Evans M. A tool to improve communication in the neonatal unit. BMJ Qual Improv Report 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203180.w3084. [accessed on June 16, 2017].
  • Reis MD, Scott SD, Rempel GR. Including parents in the evaluation of clinical microsystems in the neonatal intensive care unit. Adv Neonatal Care 2009; 9:174–179. http://dx.doi.org/110.1097/anc.0b013e3181afab3c.(accessed on July 20, 2017)
  • V Sankar, P Batra, M Saroha, J Sadiza. Parental satisfaction in the traditional system of neonatal intensive care unit services in a public sector hospital in North India. SAJCH 2017; 11(1): 54–57.

  • Published Date : 2017-10-02