Expectations of Mothers with Infants in The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for Healing Care Processes: A Qualitative Study

Purpose: The study aimed to describe the expectations of mothers whose infants were in the neonatal intensive care unit regarding the healing care processes. Material and Methods: This study is descriptive qualitative research conducted with mothers whose infants were in a private hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Data were collected between October and November 2022 by using purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 mothers via an audio recorder. The inductive thematic analysis method was used. Results: The analysis identified three main categories and seven sub-themes: "humanistic healing care behaviors, healing physical environment and supports." In the theme of humanistic healing care behaviors, mothers stated that open and honest information sharing was necessary; in the healing care environment, the organization of the neonatal intensive care unit and noise control were necessary. The support theme mentioned the effect of family and home health personnel support on healing processes. The themes were created based on Watson's human caring theory. Conclusion: The analysis identified three main categories and seven sub-themes: "humanistic healing care behaviors, healing physical environment and supports." In the theme of humanistic healing care behaviors, mothers stated that open and honest information sharing was necessary; in the healing care environment, the organization of the neonatal intensive care unit and noise control were necessary. The support theme mentioned the effect of family and home health personnel support on healing processes. The themes were created based on Watson's human caring theory.