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Exploring parent expectations of neonatal therapeutic hypothermia

Journal of Perinatology volume 38, pages 857–864 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to assess the parent experience of therapeutic hypothermia (TH), specifically focusing on unmet expectations.

Study Design

Open-ended questions were used in a focus group setting. We employed an inductive approach to develop thematic content from the transcribed recordings.

Results

30 parents of infants treated with TH participated. Within the principal theme of managing expectations, four sub-themes emerged. These included parental concerns about morphine use; specifically the association of morphine with end-of-life care and addiction. Parents perceived their role as key in the decision to implement TH and were emotionally burdened by this during and after TH. Parents recall intense fear for the infant’s immediate survival and were not sufficiently reassured regarding survival. Parents also experience ongoing uncertainties about the long-term prognosis after TH.

Conclusion

The identification of these four areas in which parents have unmet expectations is important in order to improve the delivery of care.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our appreciation to the parents and grandparents who participated in this study. We thank you for your time, your deep insight and for your assistance in improving the care we provide to families of infants treated with therapeutic hypothermia.

Funding:

Dr. Craig was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Grant Number KL2TR001063. Internal funding for the material costs associated with the project including gift cards, meals and transcription was provided through a mentored research grant through the Maine Medical Center Research Institute. The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA

    Alexa K. Craig, Roslyn Gerwin, Janelle Bainter & Scott Evans

  2. Family Health Centers of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Christine James

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  1. Alexa K. Craig
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  2. Roslyn Gerwin
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  3. Janelle Bainter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexa K. Craig.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Craig, A.K., Gerwin, R., Bainter, J. et al. Exploring parent expectations of neonatal therapeutic hypothermia. J Perinatol 38, 857–864 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-018-0117-8

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