ABSTRACT
The literature regarding the birth of a premature infant strongly suggests that it is a crisis-producing event for the parents of such infants. It also suggests that premature infants are poorly parented more frequently than infants born after a normal gestation. The crisis of premature birth and its effect on parent-infant interaction using a systems model of crisis theory is described. Specific intervention strategies that can be used within the neonatal intensive care unit to ameliorate the potentially detrimental effects of the crisis of premature birth on parent-infant interaction are outlined.
Subject(s)
Infant, Premature , Intensive Care Units, Neonatal , Parent-Child Relations , Adult , Crisis Intervention , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Models, Psychological , Parents/psychology , Professional-Family Relations , Social Support , Systems TheoryABSTRACT
Increasingly, nurses are serving as consultants in designing programs to improve the health of individuals in developing countries. In order to be effective, such programs must reflect the socio-cultural context in which identified health problems occur. This can become problematic when nurses work as consultants in cultures with which they are unfamiliar. This paper proposes the use of the World Health Organization's risk strategy approach as a conceptual framework for developing culture specific programs in maternal-infant health. Suggested consultant role behaviors are articulated with this approach and the various phases of program development using an ongoing project in Juarez, Mexico to which the author has provided nursing consultation as a concrete example.
