Experiences of NICU healthcare workers serving a high-risk population in a border community in Hidalgo County, Texas.

Objective: Hidalgo County, Texas, located on the U.S.-Mexico border, is home to over 850 000 residents. Approximately 90% are Hispanic and 25% are foreign-born. Located here is the 65-bed level III neonatal intensive care unit at Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance. This study aims to describe aspects of this unit that are unique and may have contributed to its success in serving a high-risk population.

Study design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a variety of providers. The interviews were transcribed and qualitatively coded, and emergent themes were analyzed.

Results: Thirty-four providers consisting of twenty nurses, three physicians, and eleven others participated. Emergent themes included the perceived importance of language and cultural concordance between patient families and providers and staff consistency.

Conclusion: The non-clinical features of this unit reported on by its providers are deserving of additional research that clarifies their clinical effects and replicability at other institutions serving similar populations.