Impact of COVID-19 on the parent-nurse relationship in NICU: a phenomenological study of nurses lived experience.

BACKGROUND During the Covid-19 pandemic, the family presence in hospital was reduced, or excluded, to limit the contagiousness, but that could impact negatively on the quality of communication, family education, and the best development outcome for the newborn. AIM This study aims to explore and describe if and how the pandemic influenced the relationship and care provided to the family in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). METHODS This is a descriptive qualitative study. The data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with 7 NICU nurses from different Italian Regions in the period June-August 2021, by snowball sampling. Thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke method was conducted. RESULTS The data show an overview of the hospitals' choices about parents' access to NICUs, from total to partial closure. The thematic analysis revealed how some nurses have boycotted corporate choices in favor of child's and family's well-being, while others have consolidated the idea that NICUs must remain closed. Moreover, nurses report that they standardized their practice rather than individualize care. CONCLUSIONS The Covid-19 limitations created many inconveniences and negatively impacted the quality of the care provided, as the safety of the discharge of these fragile patients. NURSING IMPLICATIONS It is important to evaluate how this situation impacts long-term patient outcomes, but also how some organizational decisions influence the well-being of professionals, who facing difficult choices, during a health emergency. This study aims to give leadership data to understand the value that the family has in the care process in NICU and that parents cannot be considered "visitors".