Using Video Teleconferencing to Involve Fathers in The Morning Rounds in the NICU. A Novel Approach Forced by A Change in Visitation Policy.

Background: Previous research has shown that father of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit(NICU) are stressed as a result of fullling the traditional role as a breadwinner as well as a caregiver 1 Due toCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the parental visitation policy in our hospital changed Thenew policy allowed only one parent to visit the NICU at one time This was necessary as part of initiative toenforce social distancing and keep families and providers safe and prevent them from the contracting thedisease During family centered rounds in our NICU, only one parent (usually the mother) was able to bepresent At that time, multiple fathers had expressed the disappointment and frustration at not being able tobe present during the morning rounds We utilized a teleconferencing platform to involve the fathers in themorning rounds Methods: The teleconferencing platform zoom was utilized for the program During theweekdays before the rounds, the father was sent a link with a password to join the rounds The father was informed of the approximate time of rounding and requested to log in to the platform 10 minutes prior At thetime of the rounding, the Physician (who was the team leader) was able to check if the father was available inthe virtual waiting room in the platform If the father was present, he was checked into the live stream andparticipated in the rounds Results: So far, we have successfully completed family centered rounds using theteleconferencing platform zoom in 13 infants Verbal feedback received from the parents (both parents,especially the father) were very encouraging as all of them found this program useful The providers in theunit had a general feeling that it not only improved the satisfaction of the parents but also allayed someanxiety in them, especially involving the father Conclusion: A video based teleconferencing platform wassuccessfully utilized during the restrictions from hospital policy created by the pandemic We believe that thesuccessful implementation of this new program has future implications Usually, fathers are still working whentheir infants are admitted to the NICU A video teleconferencing platform can be offered to the workingfathers to stay connected and involved in the care of their infants This may improve satisfaction and reducestress in fathers who are often not able to get involved to the extent they would like