How doctors communicated with parents in a neonatal intensive care: Communication and ethical issues

Abstract

Communication between doctors and their patients and families is one of the most important elements of medical care 1 for three key reasons. Firstly, it enables shared decision-making. 1,2 Secondly, it creates good inter-personal relationships, which is important because the perceived quality of these relationships can be regarded as a prerequisite for medical care. Thirdly, it promotes interaction between the relevant parties so that they can exchange information, ask questions and share views. The environment of the neonatal intensive care (NICU) presents healthcare staff and parents with particular challenges with regard to communication and information. It is important that parents are kept informed while their baby is in the NICU, because they are confronted with feelings of shock and stress and need to cope with fear and to deal with anticipation and uncertainty. 3-5 The parents' emotions have consequences with regard to their ability to concentrate,

Communication in a Neonatal Intensive Care Setting: 10-Step Approach

“…Several studies [1][2][3][4][5][6] have pointed out that the lack of good communication plays a negative role in newborn care and increases the likelihood of stress and dissatisfaction of families, burnout among healthcare professionals and legal issues concerning healthcare provision. The most common challenges are providing too little information, use of excessive medical jargon, clinical information given by nurses rather than by doctors, parents whose newborns have fewer complex diseases or are healthier spending little time with doctors, and clinical observation and physical examination performed in the absence of parents.…”

Ética y prematuro extremo

“…Las emociones de los padres pueden alterar la capacidad de concentración, comunicación y toma de decisiones. Expectativas optimistas poco realistas de los padres dificultan la comprensión de la información entregada por el equipo 7 .…”