Comparison of Nurses and Parents’ Viewpoints Regarding the Needs of Parents of Premature Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

BACKGROUND: The birth of a premature infant and her/his hospitalization can cause the parents to experience a variety of needs. Understanding the needs of parents by nurses can lead to provision of high quality care to premature infants. This study aimed to compare the parents’ and nurses’ viewpoints regarding parents’ needs in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 63 nurses, 120 mothers, and 120 fathers, who met the inclusion criteria, participated. Nurses were selected through a census method and parents through a simple convenience sampling method. Data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive-analytic statistical methods in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 16. RESULTS: From the viewpoint of mothers, the need for assurance with a mean score of 87.4 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 71.37 was the least important need. From the perspective of fathers, the need for assurance with a mean score of 78.5 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 51.20 was the least important need. From the viewpoint of the nurses, the need for assurance with a mean score of 77.6 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 59.77 was the least important need. The mean scores of the needs of mothers in all subscales were higher than that of the fathers’ and nurses’ (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: From the viewpoint of nurses, the scores of parents’ needs were significantly less than that of the parents’ for all subscales. It is suggested that appropriate education programs be provided for nurses regarding how they can understand parents’ needs to provide high quality care.