A Closer Look at Parental Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis of Parental Entries in Neonatal Research Diaries of Preterm Infants Participating in the REPORT-BPD Feasibility Study.
Highlights: What are the main findings? Parental diary entries captured meaningful real-time observations of preterm infants' health during the first 10 days of life in the NICU. These entries showed emotional depth and parental vigilance but lacked the clinical specificity to support prediction of...
| Publicado en: | Children Vol. 12; no. 8; pp. 1059 - 1074 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
Aug2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=187613439&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 187613439 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 22279067 LW6K jtl: Children issn: 22279067 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2025 vid: 12 iid: 8 pid: 97109 pub: MDPI artinfo: ui: 187613439 187613439 187613439 10.3390/children12081059 187613439 ppf: 1059 ppct: 15 formats: tig: atl: A Closer Look at Parental Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis of Parental Entries in Neonatal Research Diaries of Preterm Infants Participating in the REPORT-BPD Feasibility Study. aug: au: Muhsen, Wisam Guillot Lozano, Ana Latour, Jos M. affil: Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL6 8BU, UK sug: subj: Parental Attitudes Evaluation Narratives Health Services Research Infant, Premature Research Subjects Parent-Infant Relations Health Status Infant Development Diaries Echocardiography Heart Ventricle, Right Prediction Models Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Risk Factors Risk Assessment Human Qualitative Studies Pilot Studies Infant Thematic Analysis Gestational Age Intensive Care Units, Neonatal Documentation Parent-Infant Bonding Psychological Well-Being Optimism Psychological Distress Professional-Family Relations Coping Hardiness Nonexperimental Studies Multimethod Studies Data Analysis Software Infant: 1-23 months ab: Highlights: What are the main findings? Parental diary entries captured meaningful real-time observations of preterm infants' health during the first 10 days of life in the NICU. These entries showed emotional depth and parental vigilance but lacked the clinical specificity to support prediction of BPD. What is the implication of the main finding? Parental observations, while insightful, do not appear to complement echocardiographic data in predicting early BPD development. Neonatal diaries may still hold value as a communication tool to enhance family-centred care and parent–staff collaboration in the NICU. Background/Objectives: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease affecting preterm infants, often resulting in prolonged neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stays and significant parental stress. The experiences of parents navigating their preterm infant's early NICU journey are important to support clinical trials to improve infant outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore parental perceptions of their infant's health progression during the first 10 days of life through personal diary entries and their correlation with the echo scans assessments, as part of the Exploring Right vEntricular function applicability in a Prediction mOdel to identify pReterm infanTs with early BronchoPulmonary Dysplasia (REPORT-BPD) feasibility study. Methods: An embedded qualitative design was employed, utilising thematic analysis of 17 parent diaries. Parents of preterm infants (<32 weeks of gestation) admitted to a NICU documented their daily experiences. Thematic analysis was applied to ensure a rigorous, inductive examination of emerging themes. Findings: Four main themes were identified: (1) developing parent–infant relationships, highlighting the emotional impact of separation and the significance of bonding; (2) health and well-being of premature infants and family, reflecting parental vigilance, cautious optimism, and emotional distress; (3) parents navigating support and the NICU environment, describing challenges related to medical procedures, communication with staff, and adapting to a highly technical setting; and (4) emotions and protective gestures, illustrating parental resilience, coping mechanisms, and the innate drive to protect their child. Conclusions: Parental experiences in the NICU were shaped by emotional turmoil, uncertainty, and the need for support in navigating their infant's care. Diaries provided an effective means for parents to express their experiences; they could serve as a communication tool in clinical trials to provide a deeper understanding of the development of the recruited preterm infants. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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