Reducing Paternal Stress in the NICU: The Role of Supportive Nursing Interventions

The neonatal intensive care unit, also known as the NICU, is a special unit where newborn babies can receive intensive medical care. An infant’s hospitalization in the NICU often creates significant stress for parents, emphasizing the importance of supportive nursing interventions to help alleviate this stress to improve family well-being. Primary research articles regarding nursing interventions to reduce this stress for the mothers and nursing interventions that involve family-centered care were explored. However, there remains limited research on nursing interventions to reduce this stress specifically for the fathers. This proposal aims to explore the supportive needs of fathers with infants in the NICU and what interventions NICU nurses are implementing to support fathers and reduce their stress. An exploratory descriptive qualitative design will be used, with semi-structured interviews and a sample of 15 fathers and 15 NICU nurses. Fathers will be asked about stressors, the support needs from the NICU nurses, and how well these needs are met, while nurses will discuss what interventions they implement to support fathers and what they find to be effective in their stress reduction. Thematic analysis will be used, and anticipated data could potentially reveal shared and unique perspectives on paternal stress, paternal support needs from nurses, and understanding of nursing interventions to reduce paternal stress. This study aims to support the development of tailored nursing interventions for fathers, ensuring that adequate support is provided for both mothers and fathers who have infants in the NICU.