The effects of education levels of developmental care in Australia: Perceptions and challenges.

Griffiths, N; Spence, K; Galea, C; Psaila, K; Foureur, M; Sinclair, L

The effects of education levels of developmental care in Australia: Perceptions and challenges.

Griffiths, N Spence, K Galea, C Psaila, K Foureur, M Sinclair, L

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian critical care : official journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses, 2020
Issue Date:: 2020-11-18

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Griffiths, N
dc.contributor.author	Spence, K
dc.contributor.author	Galea, C
dc.contributor.author	Psaila, K
dc.contributor.author	Foureur, M
dc.contributor.author	Sinclair, L https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4209-9745
dc.date.accessioned	2021-05-03T21:14:01Z
dc.date.available	2020-10-09
dc.date.available	2021-05-03T21:14:01Z
dc.date.issued	2020-11-18
dc.identifier.citation	Australian critical care : official journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses, 2020
dc.identifier.issn	1036-7314
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/148588
dc.description.abstract	<h4>Background</h4>Developmental care consists of a range of clinical, infant-focused, and family-focused interventions designed to modify the neonatal intensive care environment and caregiving practices to reduce stressors on the developing brain. Since the inception of developmental care in the early 1980s, it has been recommended and adopted globally as a component of routine practice for neonatal care. Despite its application for almost 40 y, little is known of the attitude of neonatal nurses in Australia towards the intervention.<h4>Aims and objectives</h4>The objective of this study was to establish Australian neonatal nurse perceptions of developmental care and explore associations between developmental care education levels of the nurses and personal beliefs in the application of developmental care.<h4>Design</h4>This involves a cross-sectional survey design.<h4>Methods</h4>An online questionnaire was completed by 171 neonatal nurses. Participants were members of the Australian College of Neonatal Nursing (n = 783). Covariate associations between key components of developmental care and respondents' geographical location, place of employment, professional qualifications, and developmental care education level were analysed. The reporting of this study is in accordance with the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys.<h4>Results</h4>Differences were observed between groups for geographical location, place of employment, and professional qualification level. Rural nurses were less likely to support the provision of skin-to-skin care (odds ratio [OR]: 0.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-1.8) than nurses in a metropolitsan unit. Nurses working in a neonatal intensive care unit and nurses with postgraduate qualifications were more likely to support parental involvement in care ([OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 0.9-6.2] and [OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 0.6-7.4], respectively). Rural respondents were more likely to have attended off-site education (OR: 3.6, 95% CI: 1.3-9.9) than metropolitan respondents.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The application of developmental care in Australia may be influenced by inadequate resources and inequitable access to educational resources, and similar challenges have been reported in other countries. Overcoming the challenges requires a focused education strategy and support within and beyond the neonatal intensive care unit.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/2005396
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian critical care : official journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.aucc.2020.10.003
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	1103 Clinical Sciences, 1110 Nursing
dc.subject.classification	Nursing
dc.title	The effects of education levels of developmental care in Australia: Perceptions and challenges.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.location.activity	Australia
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences
utslib.for	1110 Nursing
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2021-11-19T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2021-05-03T21:13:57Z
pubs.publication-status	Published

Abstract:

Background

Developmental care consists of a range of clinical, infant-focused, and family-focused interventions designed to modify the neonatal intensive care environment and caregiving practices to reduce stressors on the developing brain. Since the inception of developmental care in the early 1980s, it has been recommended and adopted globally as a component of routine practice for neonatal care. Despite its application for almost 40 y, little is known of the attitude of neonatal nurses in Australia towards the intervention.

Aims and objectives

The objective of this study was to establish Australian neonatal nurse perceptions of developmental care and explore associations between developmental care education levels of the nurses and personal beliefs in the application of developmental care.

Design

This involves a cross-sectional survey design.

Methods

An online questionnaire was completed by 171 neonatal nurses. Participants were members of the Australian College of Neonatal Nursing (n = 783). Covariate associations between key components of developmental care and respondents' geographical location, place of employment, professional qualifications, and developmental care education level were analysed. The reporting of this study is in accordance with the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys.

Results

Differences were observed between groups for geographical location, place of employment, and professional qualification level. Rural nurses were less likely to support the provision of skin-to-skin care (odds ratio [OR]: 0.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-1.8) than nurses in a metropolitsan unit. Nurses working in a neonatal intensive care unit and nurses with postgraduate qualifications were more likely to support parental involvement in care ([OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 0.9-6.2] and [OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 0.6-7.4], respectively). Rural respondents were more likely to have attended off-site education (OR: 3.6, 95% CI: 1.3-9.9) than metropolitan respondents.

Conclusion

The application of developmental care in Australia may be influenced by inadequate resources and inequitable access to educational resources, and similar challenges have been reported in other countries. Overcoming the challenges requires a focused education strategy and support within and beyond the neonatal intensive care unit.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/148588