Healthcare professional perceptions of family-centred rounds in French NICUs: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perceptions of healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding parental presence at medical rounds in French neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). We hypothesised that HCPs would perceive barriers against allowing parental participation in round discussions. METHODS: This cross-sectional study approached 304 HCPs from three groups; group 1: French professionals that attended an annual French-speaking meeting of the Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP); group 2: NICU professionals from a tertiary care academic hospital in western France; and group 3: paediatric residents from six French universities. We invited all HCPs to complete a questionnaire about medical round practices and their perceptions towards parent participation in family-centred rounds (FCRs). RESULTS: Of the 176 (58%) questionnaires returned, 159 were included in the analysis. The majority of medical rounds took place at the bedside for groups 1 and 3 (68%, 95% CI 54 to 80 and 71%, 95% CI 56 to 84, respectively) and in a conference room for group 2 (65%, 95% CI 51 to 78). Overall, respondents positively perceived FCR for themselves, parents and students. However, most respondents agreed with the following claims: ‘Parental attendance at medical rounds prevents some discussions between health professionals’ (66%, 95% CI 57 to 73), ‘FCR increases round durations’ (63%,95% CI 55 to 71) and ‘Some decisions made during medical rounds may be stressful for parents’ (51%, 95% CI 42 to 59). Nevertheless, responses varied significantly according to NIDCAP training and NICU experience and consequently group 1 displayed a significantly more positive attitude than other groups (p<0.001); they expressed less concern about potentially inhibiting discussions between HCPs (p<0.001), the feasibility (p=0.02) and prolonged round durations (p<0.001). Several difficulties and facilitators of FCR implementation were variously reported, but all groups agreed that routine workload was an important difficulty and that medical leadership would be an important facilitator. CONCLUSION: French HCPs expressed rather positive perceptions towards parental presence in NICU rounds. However, some concerns need to be addressed.