Context is key: New insights on barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation of skin-to-skin care in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit

Skin-to-skin care (SSC) is an underutilized intervention for neonates born with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the acute/critical care setting. The aim of this study was to explore contextual factors influencing the implementation of SSC for neonates with CHD. This study was a secondary analysis of complete survey data from 223 interdisciplinary healthcare professionals collected via convenience sampling. The survey included valid and reliable measures of implementation outcomes. Scores for all outcomes were compared across pre-identified variables of interest. Comparisons included t-tests for predictors with binary values and simple linear regressions when the predictor was continuous. Relevant recent experience appears to be a strong facilitator for SSC implementation. Both general education level and lack of specific knowledge on unit-based policies for SSC may be factors that could be addressed by education. Future research could target factors identified in this study to improve the implementation of SSC for neonates with CHD.