Preterm Infant Care Practice among Nurses in Neonatal Care Units of Selected Hospitals of Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction. Preterm infants (PTIs) are vulnerable to morbidity, disability, and mortality. They require meticulous care for survival and development in neonatal care units (NCUs). PTI care in NCUs is a collaborative and team effort among different health professionals. However, nurses have a key r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nursing forum (Hillsdale) 2023-12, Vol.2023, p.1-11
Main Authors: Shrestha, Tumla, Bista, Archana Pandey, Shrestha, Sarala, Regmi, Radhika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Birth weight
Child care
Consent
Data analysis
Data collection
Family support
Health promotion
Hospitals
Infant mortality
Infants
Medical personnel
Morbidity
Neonatal care
Neonatology
Newborn babies
Nurses
Nursing care
Oxygen
Pain
Pain management
Premature babies
Premature birth
Professional development
Quality of care
Questionnaires
Self report
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Introduction. Preterm infants (PTIs) are vulnerable to morbidity, disability, and mortality. They require meticulous care for survival and development in neonatal care units (NCUs). PTI care in NCUs is a collaborative and team effort among different health professionals. However, nurses have a key role for quality care. This study aimed to assess nurses’ PTI care practices across different hospitals in Nepal. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in NCUs of six randomly selected public hospitals in Nepal. After obtaining ethical approval, structured observation was completed among 40 NCU nurses using a practice checklist. After observation, a self-report questionnaire was administered among 102 nurses. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results. The observation and self-reported mean infant care practices were 73.7% and 70.7%, respectively. The overall practice median score and the interquartile range (IQR) were 4.0 (3.5–4.3) with the highest score of (4.5 [4.1–4.7]) for daily supportive care and the lowest score of (2.8 [2.1–3.5]) for pain management. The care practice was strongly associated with the nurse-infant ratio (adjusted odd ratio (aOR) = 18.52, confidence interval (CI) = 5.83–58.77, and p=
ISSN:0029-6473
1744-6198
DOI:10.1155/2023/1993173