Maternal Perceptions About Sensory Interventions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

Abstract

BackgroundMothers play an important role in providing positive sensory experiences to their infants during NICU hospitalization. However, little is known regarding maternal perceptions about sensory-based interventions in the NICU. Further, understanding maternal perceptions was an important part of the process during development of the Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) program.MethodsTwenty mothers of very preterm infants were interviewed after NICU discharge and asked open-ended questions about sensory-based interventions they performed in the NICU and probed about their perceptions related to the development of a sensory-based guideline and the use of volunteers to provide sensory-based interventions when unable to be present in the NICU. Interviews were transcribed and uploaded into NVivoV.12 for content analysis.ResultsMothers reported that kangaroo care was a common sensory intervention they performed in the NICU. Of the 18 mothers who commented on the development of a sensory-based guideline, 17 (94%) said they would be accepting of one. Among 19 mothers, 18 (95%) supported volunteers conducting sensory-based interventions in their absence. Identified themes included: 1) Perceptions about development of a sensory-based guideline, 2) Perceptions of interactions with healthcare providers, 3) Maternal participation in sensory interventions, 4) Maternal experience, and 5) Emotions from mothers.ConclusionMaternal perceptions regarding the development of a sensory-based guideline were favorable, and the SENSE program has since been finalized after incorporating important insights learned from stakeholders in this study. Mothers' perceptions were tied to their NICU experiences, which elicited strong emotions. These findings highlight important considerations when developing family-centered interventions.

Infant and Parent Outcomes Related to NICU-Based Co-occupational Engagement

“…Families who perceive the NICU as more stressful may have lower presence during their infants’ hospitalization (Head Zauche et al, 2020). Parents who have received the SENSE program have reported that the use of volunteers engaging in co-occupations with their infants did put them at ease when they were unable to attend frequently (Lisle et al, 2022); however, this did not seem to decrease their reports of stress. With relationships observed in this study between parents conducting most of the sensory-based interventions and decreased reports of parental stress, it remains unclear whether engagement in more co-occupations with the infants played a role in decreasing parental stress and anxiety in this group or if parents with more stress experienced more barriers to engaging in co-occupations with their infants.…”

“…Therefore, the use of surrogates/volunteers has been suggested, successfully implemented, and studied (Clubbs et al, 2019). The use of volunteers to read and or provide touch, when parents were not available to engage in the daily recommended positive sensory exposures with their infants, has been deemed acceptable by parents (Lisle et al, 2022; Pineda et al, 2020). Of all the infants enrolled in a previous pilot study and randomized control trial (RCT) on the SENSE program, 85% had the majority of their positive sensory experiences conducted by their parents, while the remainder engaged in most of the experiences with volunteers or health care professionals (Pineda, Roussin, et al, 2021).…”

Health Care Professional Perceptions About a Proposed NICU Intervention: The Importance of Community and Aligning With Everyday Occupations

“…Other stakeholders impacted by NICU interventions include parents; however, parents were not invited to participate in these focus groups, as the intent of this study was to gather perspectives from health care professionals. Separate interviews were conducted to gather parental input on the SENSE program (Lisle et al, 2022). Focus groups for health care professionals were specifically selected above individual interviews, as focus groups are particularly helpful in the early stages of research (Smithson, 2000), and participants can dynamically co-construct ideas during an interactive discussion.…”

NICU sensory experiences associated with positive outcomes: an integrative review of evidence from 2015–2020

“…The goal is to empower parents to engage in the described sensory activities with their infant(s). In addition to the initial integrative review [6], a rigorous process of protocol development for the SENSE program took place, which included expert input from a multidisciplinary group of 108 health care professionals that defined sensory interventions implemented across different NICUs, 3 multidisciplinary focus groups that provided a critical review of the guideline [12,13], and interviews with 20 mothers of preterm infants who gave input on feasibility of implementing the SENSE program in the NICU [14]. All of these results were integrated to develop the evidence-based SENSE program.…”