Discovering the barriers to spread the usage of peripherally inserted central venous catheters in the neonatal intensive care units: A qualitative research

BACKGROUND: By increasing the survival of immature newborns, intravenous access methods, used to provide intravenous therapy, became more important. More attention has been recently paid on peripherally inserted central venous catheters in newborns, although it is yet unknown in Iran. In this study, we tried to discover the barriers to spread the usage of peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC) in the neonatal intensive care units of hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive explorative qualitative research, conducted from December 2011 to April 2012 with purposeful sampling and snowball method, participants were selected from nurses and residents of neonatology and neonatal specialists working in Alzahra, Shahid Beheshty, and Amin hospitals, until data saturation occurred. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis proposed by Broun and Clarke in 2006. RESULTS: Data analysis yielded 175 initial codes, 12 sub-themes, and 3 main themes. The main themes included barriers related to procedure and maintenance, barriers related to persons providing care, and barriers related to management and planning. CONCLUSIONS: One of the major problems in premature newborns during hospitalization is long-term and safe intravascular access; therefore, more use of PICC is needed. A complete planning is also needed to eliminate barriers and to provide required catheters. Educating the personnel is also necessary.