Interdisciplinary Family Conferences to Improve Patient Experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Abstract

Parents play a significant role in the development of their neonate. They can affect the length of stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and are seen as an integral part of the team. Parents are often put in positions where difficult decision making is required of them in the care of their critically ill child. Studies suggest that one way to improve the family's experience and to encourage their involvement is by establishing a formal and focused family conference. Therefore, the NICU social workers and the interdisciplinary team collaborated to formulate strategies to improve communication that would enhance current practice. As a new initiative, the team decided that holding an interdisciplinary family conference (IFC) within the first two weeks of a baby's NICU admission is critical for parental involvement of infants less than 32 weeks gestation and those with congenital birth anomalies. The team determined that the primary outcome measure would be family satisfaction scores from hospital surveys. Since the implementation of IFCs, satisfaction scores showed steady improvement. This quality improvement project demonstrated that IFCs are an integral part of the family-centered care approach in the NICU. IFCs foster partnerships with families to ensure their involvement in all aspects of patient care and improve their experience in the NICU.