Perceptions of parents, nurses, and physicians on neonatal intensive care practices.

OBJECTIVE To identify satisfaction with neonatal intensive care as viewed by parents and healthcare professionals and to explore similarities and differences between parents and healthcare professionals. STUDY DESIGN A 3-round Delphi method to identify neonatal care issues (round 1) and to determine the importance of these issues (rounds 2 and 3) was conducted among nurses (n = 84) and physicians (n = 14), followed by an exploratory survey among parents (n = 259). Main outcome measures were 92 neonatal care-related items. RESULTS Sixty-eight nurses and 13 physicians completed all 3 rounds. The first round yielded 419 neonatal care related statements, which were clustered into 92 items. The survey was completed by 148 (57%) parents. Parents rated 25 of 92 care items significantly higher than did the professionals (effect size of Cohen's d, 0.31 to 1.14, P <or= .02). Two items related to medication administration had the largest effect size. Professionals rated 7 items significantly higher than did parents (Cohen's d, -0.31 to -0.58, P <or= .04). One of these was assigning a physician and a nurse to the parents. Three were related to multicultural care. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed disparities between parents and neonatal intensive care unit staff on a number of care issues reflecting incongruity in recognizing parents' desires.