Factors affecting infant's transition from neonatal intensive care unit to home: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND The infants, hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), engage with problems from admission to discharge, exploring of which ensures their safe transition. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence infant's transition from the NICU to home. MATERIALS AND METHODS A qualitative study was used for identifying the factors that affect infant's transition. Data were gathered by interviewing 16 nurses and physicians in NICUs of university hospitals in Iran; and were analyzed by qualitative content analysis method. MAXQDA, MAX Qualitative Data Analysis, is a software which has been developed in Berlin, Germany. software, the qualitative data analysis package, was used for coding and categorizing. RESULTS There are 10 categories that affect infant's transition, as revealed in data analysis. These categories were delineated into three themes: Cognition of infant's needs, effectiveness of trainings, and organizational context. CONCLUSION The results of this study further disclosed the factors that facilitate or hinder infant's transition from the NICU to home. The aspects of correct cognition along with more effective trainings must be fully introduced to the staff to meet infant's needs. Also, authorities are better to make policies to decrease organizational barriers. Therefore, it is suggested that applying developmental care can ease infant's transition.