Effects of single family room architecture on parent–infant closeness and family centered care in neonatal environments—a single-center pre–post study

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a single family room neonatal intensive care unit (SFR-NICU) on parents’ presence, parent–infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC), and the quality of family centered care (FCC). Study Design: Pre–post comparison of two cohorts of parents of preterm infants before and after a move to SFR-NICU. Parents used daily diaries to report presence and SSC and responded to daily text-message questions assessing FCC quality. Results: Parents spent more time in the SFR-NICU, but there was no significant change in SSC. Parents rated the quality of FCC highly in both unit architectures, with no change after the move. Conclusion: The SFR-NICU increased parents’ presence but not SSC. Architectural change did not affect parents’ evaluations of FCC quality, which were already high before the move.

Emma Kainiemi, Pilvi Hongisto, Liisa Lehtonen, Bernd Pape, Anna Axelin