Implementation of a bedside family charting tool in the NICU (2011)

Undergraduate: Sara Schumann

Faculty Advisor: Diane Yorke
Department: Nursing

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The Newborn Critical Care Center (NCCC) at North Carolina Children’s Hospital identified the need for an increased focus on family-centered care (FCC) based on feedback obtained from families and providers. As a theoretical framework, FCC is an approach to the planning, delivery and evaluation of health care, based in a respectful coalition between providers and the family, with the ultimate goal of including the family in decision making (Griffin, 2006). In response to the FCC initiative, the ‘Baby Steps’ family charting tool was created as an intervention to help facilitate the partnership between health care providers and parents, thereby empowering families to be a part of the health care team. ‘Baby Steps’ consists of a binder containing information orienting families to the unit and its providers, family charting tools (for infant growth, development, feeding cues, and pain cues), a ‘questions for providers’ section, and an invitation to participate in daily attending-physician rounds. The ‘Baby Steps’ family charting tool was implemented as standard of care to all English-speaking families in the NCCC. The tool’s use was evaluated through objective data collection, interviews with families, and communication with nursing staff. The preliminary findings of this pilot study in one neonatal intensive care unit reveal that families will use a bedside family charting tool and do desire to participate in attending-physician rounds.