Xiaoyan Yu’s research while affiliated with Tongji Hospital and other places

Purpose: To explore Chinese parents' experiences and expectations of having preterm infants in a Chinese neonatal intensive care unit. Design and methods: A qualitative descriptive design with semi-structured interviews was used to describe the experiences and expectations of parents of preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit in the central region of China. Purposive sampling was adopted to recruit parents (n = 15) of preterm infants and data were collected by face-to-face interviews from January to May 2018. Themes were identified by thematic analysis. This study followed the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ). Results: Five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) mixed emotional experiences; (2) separation from the infants; (3) perceived incompetence in taking care of preterm infants; (4) obtained support through various sources; (5) desired more from healthcare professionals. Conclusions: Parents experienced additional emotional burdens due to separation from their infants as well as a lack of an effective approach to their associated needs. While NICU staff adopted several strategies to help parents cope with their infant hospitalization, these parents still expected to receive more support from healthcare providers to meet their needs. Practice implications: Healthcare providers should be more aware of parents' various needs in neonatal intensive care units and of their important role as constant caregivers. Hospital-based neonatal care should be specifically designed to supply positive support and necessary strategies for parents to strengthen their confidence in parenting infants.

Aim To evaluate the effects of family‐centred care on hospitalized preterm infants. Background With an increase in published reports on family‐centred care for preterm infants, there is a need for an up‐to‐date review and meta‐analysis of rigorously designed studies to measure the effects of family‐centred care on preterm infants. Design A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Data sources The Cochrane Library (Issue 12, 2017), PubMed (1966 to December 2017), CINAHL (1982 to December 2017), EMBASE (1974 to December 2017), and Web of Science (1975 to December 2017) databases were searched. Review methods Relevant terms were used to search for randomized controlled trials of family‐centred care versus standard care. A modified rating scale was utilized to assess studies for the degree of family‐centredness of the intervention. Results Four studies involving 1026 preterm infants were included. Compared with standard care, family‐centred care shortened the total length of hospital stay and length of neonatal intensive care unit stay. There was inadequate evidence to demonstrate any effects of family‐centred care on infant morbidity, feeding, growth, or neurobehavioural performance. Conclusion Family‐centred care is an effective and safe intervention to shorten the length of stay in the hospital and improve survival quality among hospitalized preterm infants.