Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives To ascertain parental perceptions of the impact of restricted visiting policies to neonatal intensive care units during the current COVID-19 pandemic.Design Cross-sectional survey of parents impacted by visitation policies.Setting Six tertiary level neonatal units, four from the UK and tw...

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Main Authors: Mahmoud Ali, Katie Hunt, Paul Clarke, Sarah Myers, Paul Cawley, Cora Doherty, Vennila Ponnusamy, Hemananda Muniraman, Jessica Hillyer, Adam Heathcote, Zoe Coleman, Kendall Hammonds, Chandni Raiyani, Eleanor Gait-Carr, Vinayak Govande, Anoo Jain, Reese Clark, Venkata Raju
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-02-01
Series:BMJ Paediatrics Open
Online Access:https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000899.full
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author Mahmoud Ali
Katie Hunt
Paul Clarke
Sarah Myers
Paul Cawley
Cora Doherty
Vennila Ponnusamy
Hemananda Muniraman
Jessica Hillyer
Adam Heathcote
Zoe Coleman
Kendall Hammonds
Chandni Raiyani
Eleanor Gait-Carr
Vinayak Govande
Anoo Jain
Reese Clark
Venkata Raju
author_facet Mahmoud Ali
Katie Hunt
Paul Clarke
Sarah Myers
Paul Cawley
Cora Doherty
Vennila Ponnusamy
Hemananda Muniraman
Jessica Hillyer
Adam Heathcote
Zoe Coleman
Kendall Hammonds
Chandni Raiyani
Eleanor Gait-Carr
Vinayak Govande
Anoo Jain
Reese Clark
Venkata Raju
author_sort Mahmoud Ali
collection DOAJ
description Objectives To ascertain parental perceptions of the impact of restricted visiting policies to neonatal intensive care units during the current COVID-19 pandemic.Design Cross-sectional survey of parents impacted by visitation policies.Setting Six tertiary level neonatal units, four from the UK and two from the USA, participated in the study.Participants Parents and families of infants hospitalised in the participating centres between 1 May 2020 and 21 August 2020.Methods Online-based and/or paper-based survey, querying the visitation policies and their impact on parents’ ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants.Results A total of 231 responses were received. Visitation limited to a single visitor with no restrictions on duration was the most frequently reported policy; 140/217 (63%). Visitation policies were perceived as being restrictive by 62% (138/219) of the respondents with 37% (80/216) reporting being able to visit less often than desired, 41% (78/191) reporting being unable to bond enough and 27% (51/191) reporting not being able to participate in their baby’s daily care. Mild to severe impact on breast feeding was reported by 36% (75/209) of respondents. Stricter policies had a higher impact on families and were significantly associated with a lack of bonding time, inability to participate in care and an adverse impact on breast feeding.Conclusions Visitation policies during the COVID-19 pandemic varied between centres and over time with stricter restrictions implemented earlier on in the pandemic. Parents reported significant impacts on their ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants with perceived severity of impact worse with stricter restrictions.
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spelling doaj-art-bcf0e1cd30cb447c8570fc18bffc22d32025-08-20T02:07:19ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Paediatrics Open2399-97722020-02-014110.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemicMahmoud Ali0Katie Hunt1Paul Clarke2Sarah Myers3Paul Cawley4Cora Doherty5Vennila Ponnusamy6Hemananda Muniraman7Jessica Hillyer8Adam Heathcote9Zoe Coleman10Kendall Hammonds11Chandni Raiyani12Eleanor Gait-Carr13Vinayak Govande14Anoo Jain15Reese Clark16Venkata Raju17Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott and White McLane Children’s Medical Center, Temple, Texas, USA1 Department of Women and Children’s Health, School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King`s College London, London, UK1 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Norfolk Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK1 South Wales Deanery, Wales, UK2Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Evelina Children’s Hospital London, 6th Floor North Wing, St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK8 Neonatology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UKNeonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chertsey, Surrey, UKDepartment of Pediatrics, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, USADivision of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott and White McLane Children’s Medical Center, Temple, Texas, USANeonatal Intensive Care Unit, Jenny Lind Children`s Hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSaint Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USABaylor Scott and White Research Institute, Temple, Texas, USABaylor Scott and White Research Institute, Temple, Texas, USANeonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff, UKDivision of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott and White McLane Children’s Medical Center, Temple, Texas, USADivision of Neonatology, Department of Paediatrics, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UKMEDNAX Inc, Sunrise, Florida, USADivision of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott and White McLane Children’s Medical Center, Temple, Texas, USAObjectives To ascertain parental perceptions of the impact of restricted visiting policies to neonatal intensive care units during the current COVID-19 pandemic.Design Cross-sectional survey of parents impacted by visitation policies.Setting Six tertiary level neonatal units, four from the UK and two from the USA, participated in the study.Participants Parents and families of infants hospitalised in the participating centres between 1 May 2020 and 21 August 2020.Methods Online-based and/or paper-based survey, querying the visitation policies and their impact on parents’ ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants.Results A total of 231 responses were received. Visitation limited to a single visitor with no restrictions on duration was the most frequently reported policy; 140/217 (63%). Visitation policies were perceived as being restrictive by 62% (138/219) of the respondents with 37% (80/216) reporting being able to visit less often than desired, 41% (78/191) reporting being unable to bond enough and 27% (51/191) reporting not being able to participate in their baby’s daily care. Mild to severe impact on breast feeding was reported by 36% (75/209) of respondents. Stricter policies had a higher impact on families and were significantly associated with a lack of bonding time, inability to participate in care and an adverse impact on breast feeding.Conclusions Visitation policies during the COVID-19 pandemic varied between centres and over time with stricter restrictions implemented earlier on in the pandemic. Parents reported significant impacts on their ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants with perceived severity of impact worse with stricter restrictions.https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000899.full
spellingShingle Mahmoud Ali
Katie Hunt
Paul Clarke
Sarah Myers
Paul Cawley
Cora Doherty
Vennila Ponnusamy
Hemananda Muniraman
Jessica Hillyer
Adam Heathcote
Zoe Coleman
Kendall Hammonds
Chandni Raiyani
Eleanor Gait-Carr
Vinayak Govande
Anoo Jain
Reese Clark
Venkata Raju
Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
BMJ Paediatrics Open
title Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during covid 19 pandemic
url https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000899.full
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