Table 1 Comparison of Family-Centered Care (FCC) and mobile-enhanced Family-Integrated Care (mFICare)
Domain | FCC group | mFICare group |
|---|---|---|
NICU staff education | • Variable, individually-motivated education; no formal ongoing support | • Formal, unit-wide education and support for nursing role in mFICare; additional education for volunteer nurse “mFICare champions” • Ongoing support and mentoring for nurses by mFICare champions |
Parent education/ empowerment | • 1:1 teaching at bedside • Discharge class (sites B and C) • Monthly parent support group (site C) | • 1:1 teaching at bedside • In-person education and peer support group classes with 3-week rotating curriculum offered 2 to 5 times per week at each site (emphasis on developmentally-supportive care, feeding, preparation for discharge) • The small group sessions were facilitated by a member of the study team, clinical staff, or alumni parents • Parents participated in-person or could access the content remotely at a time of their choosing via We3health™ |
Parental involvement in infant’s care | • Parents encouraged be involved in infant’s basic care | • Parents expected to contribute to infant’s care as much as possible and are supported to do so |
Partnership in care planning | • Variable encouragement to be present during rounds • No formal role for parents | • Parents encouraged and supported to participate in weekday clinical team rounds either in-person or remotely via telephone • Parents receive training and role-modeling from their infant’s nurses or mFICare nurse champion to provide a brief report of their infant’s status to the rounding care team, ask questions, and reach consensus with the clinicians on the infant’s daily plan • The level of parent participation increased over time (3 training scripts) from introducing themselves and their infant to the team to providing a more detailed report of their observations and infant's responses to caregiving |
Parent peer mentor support | • No formal parent mentor program | • Formal peer support provided by trained peer parent mentors (parents of former NICU patients). Parents were offered peer-to-peer support from alumni parent mentors at sites A and C, and referred to a national NICU parent peer support service at site B. For the local programs, social workers connected parents with a mentor and communication between parents and their mentor occurred through text, email or telephone, with occasional in-person meetings. For the national program, parent-to-parent communication occurred via social media, text, telephone or email. |
Mobile app for parents | • Parents were provided with the We3health™ Tracker version app and encouraged to document: o Time spent in NICU o Time spent in skin-to-skin care o Time spent breast-feeding/pumping breastmilk o Weekly knowledge needs and skills learned o Experiences and feelings in online text/photo journal | • Parents were provided with the We3health™ mFICare version app and encouraged to document: o Time spent in NICU o Time spent in skin-to-skin care o Time spent breast-feeding/pumping breastmilk o Weekly knowledge needs and skills learned o Experiences and feelings in online text/photo journal • Additional mFICare-specific We3health™ modules: o Rounds tab to record/retrieve notes and plan details o Recorded class content o Parent mentor advice and support messages o Textbot automated/customized knowledge, tips and encouragement |