An Exploratory Study on Factors of Hypothermia in Neonates with Special Reference to Nursing Practice at Capital Govt. Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Abstract

Hypothermia in neonates is a very common problem occur in labour room, during resuscitation, during transport, and during nursing admission of neonates. As the present trend of health care delivery system emphasizes more on primitive and preventive aspects of health, it is felt that the occurrence of hypothermia in neonate should be checked by early detection and then maintaining warm chain from place of delivery to the place of transport. Also nurses must assume the responsibility in providing standard of nursing care to prevent hypothermia in neonates and research studies must be carried out by the nurses to help in the formation of these standards. Therefore keeping this issue in view, the researcher has undertaken an explorative study on factors of hypothermia with special reference to nursing care practice in Capital Govt. Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. A descriptive approach and non-experimental design was used to describe the phenomena under study.30 no of cases were selected by using purposive sampling method. The result reveals that among the hypothermic babies 50% were cold stress, 40% moderate hypothermia, and 10% were sever hypothermia. The predisposing factors were found as defective transport(24%), improper delivery room care(22%), LBW(22% and prematurity (20%), other illness(12%).The associated morbidity were prematurity(72%), septicemia (48%), birth asphyxia (38%), and pneumonia(16%) and no morbid condition was found in 18% of cases. In the area of nursing action observed in management of hypothermia was maintenance of airway (84%), maintaining normal body temperature (86%), prevention of respiratory distress (66.66%) and (88%) providing general care, prevention of infection (78%), 14% restriction of visitors were possible. Hence the study suggests that more emphasis should be given on nursing action for prevention of secondary infection, precaution of safety and health teaching to minimize the morbidity and mortality caused due to hypothermia in neonates.