Parents' experiences following the discharge home of their premature infant.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of parents' experiences following the discharge of their premature infants from hospital. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to explore these experiences so as to gain an insight and an understanding of the parents' reality and experience. The participants consisted of a criterion sample of six couples who had a premature infant at the local Special Care Baby Unit. The data was collected, after the infant's discharge from hospital at the participants' home, by means of semi structure interviews, and then it was transcribed and analyzed thematically. Nine main themes emerged from the study, these were "Impact of the Special Care Baby Unit", "Loneliness", "Going home", "Tiredness", "Coping at home", "Knowing the baby", "Education and Practice" "Support" and "The baby's well being". Through this study it was found that although the education given prior to discharge was effective, there is still the need for a protocol regarding discharge planning as well as the need for staff training in this aspect, since the discharge planning received from the parents in this study was not consistent. The establishment of a follow up care service for all infants discharged from the Special Care Unit might also be of importance in helping parents cope with the transition from hospital to home. Further research also needs to address both parents' experience of the Special Care Baby Unit locally, since from this study it was found that the experiences parents have there are unforgettable and very important to them. A quantitative study needs also to be done exploring the data obtained from this study so as to look at this aspect more holistically, as well as making the results more generisable. More research could also be done exploring the Special Care Baby Unit staffs experiences of discharge planning, so as to gain their perspective in this aspect.