Parental experiences of caring for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, Limpopo Province: a descriptive qualitative study exploring the cultural determinants.

BACKGROUND: Parent-infant interaction is highly recommended during the preterm infant hospitalisation period in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Integrating culturally sensitive healthcare during hospitalisation of preterm infants is critical for positive health outcomes. However, there is still a paucity of evidence on parental experience regarding cultural practices that can be integrated into preterm infant care in the NICU. The study explored and described the cultural determinants of parents that can be integrated into the care of preterm infants in the NICU. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative research design was followed where twenty (n=20) parents of preterm infants were purposively selected. The study was conducted in the NICU in Limpopo using in-depth individual interviews. Taguette software and a thematic analysis framework were used to analyse the data. The COREQ guidelines and checklist were employed to ensure reporting standardisation. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: 1) Lived experienced by parents of preterm infants, 2) Interactions with healthcare professionals, 3) Cultural practices concerning preterm infant care, and 4) Indigenous healthcare practices for preterm infants. CONCLUSIONS: The study emphasised a need for healthcare professionals to understand the challenges parents of preterm infants face in NICU care. Furthermore, healthcare professionals should know indigenous healthcare practices to ensure relevant, culturally sensitive care.

Challenges experienced by nurse educators developing postgraduate nursing diploma curriculum programmes, Gauteng.

BACKGROUND:  Nursing education's positioning within higher education mandated public nursing education institutions to develop competent nurses to manage diverse disease profiles of the country. Nurse educators were tasked to develop a competency-based curriculum with emphasis on primary healthcare to help prepare nurses to be independent, leaders, researchers, and critical thinkers. OBJECTIVES:  To explore and describe the challenges experienced by nurse educators in Gauteng when developing the curriculum for the postgraduate nursing diploma programmes. METHOD:  An exploratory descriptive qualitative research design was used. Purposive sampling was followed to select the participants based on the inclusion criteria. Four focus group interviews were conducted, comprising of six participants each, leading to a sample of 30. Data collection were between March 2022 and April 2022. Thematic data analysis were performed following Tesch's eight steps of analysis. RESULTS:  Themes that emerged during data analysis were psychological and emotional impact, challenges with communication and interpersonal relations, nurse educators experienced transformation and empowerment, nurse educators encountered barriers that impacted on their allocated tasks, and, nurse educators demonstrated resilience with the curriculum development processes. CONCLUSION:  Participants reported positive and negative experiences they encountered during curriculum development. The findings revealed that nurse educators need support when involved in curriculum development, for instance, managerial, administrative, technological, financial, and most importantly capacitation, as this could enable them to work effectively without deterrents.Contribution: This study highlights the need to train and support nurse educators when developing a curriculum to equip them with the necessary competencies.

Exploring cultural determinants to be integrated into preterm infant care in the neonatal intensive care unit: an integrative literature review.

BACKGROUND: Cultural practices are an integral part of childrearing and remain a significant aspect for healthcare professionals to ensure culturally sensitive care, particularly in the neonatal intensive care unit. OBJECTIVE: To synthesise literature on the cultural determinants that can be integrated into care of preterm infants admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS: The current review followed the integrative literature review steps proposed by Lubbe and colleagues. The registration of the review protocol was in PROSPERO. There was a literature search conducted in the EBSCOhost, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus databases using the search string developed in collaboration with the librarian. Three reviewers employed a three-step screening strategy to screen the articles published in English between 2011 and 2021 that focused on culturally sensitive care. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Evidence critical appraisal toolkit assessed the methodological quality of the articles included at the full-text screening level. RESULTS: There were 141 articles retrieved, and 20 included on the full-text screening level; the exclusion of one article was due to a low critical appraisal grade. Four topical themes emerged from 19 articles: spiritual care practices, intragenerational infant-rearing practices, infant physical care practices, and combining treatment practices. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings indicated that parental cultural beliefs and practices mostly influenced infant-rearing practices, emphasising the significance of integrating cultural practices when rendering healthcare services. The recommendation is that healthcare professionals understand various cultural determinants, mainly those specific to the community they serve, to provide culturally sensitive care.