Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N

Background: In neonatal intensive care units (NICU) setting, parents' experience and satisfaction permit to evaluate clinical practice and improve the care of infants and parents. Little is known about this topic in low resource settings. The aim of this study was to (1) translate, adapt and va...

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Main Authors: Berhanu Gulo, Laura Miglierina, Francesca Tognon, Silvia Panunzi, Ademe Tsegaye, Tina Asnake, Fabio Manenti, Immacolata Dall'Oglio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.738863/full
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spelling doaj-f419a2c9df8448019e5d6ffa57d72f852021-10-08T07:38:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pediatrics2296-23602021-10-01910.3389/fped.2021.738863738863Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-NBerhanu Gulo0Laura Miglierina1Francesca Tognon2Francesca Tognon3Silvia Panunzi4Ademe Tsegaye5Tina Asnake6Fabio Manenti7Immacolata Dall'Oglio8Doctors With Africa CUAMM, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDoctors With Africa CUAMM, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDoctors With Africa CUAMM, Padua, ItalyDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, University of Padua, Padua, ItalyUnit of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, ItalyDoctors With Africa CUAMM, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFederal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDoctors With Africa CUAMM, Padua, ItalyProfessional Development, Continuous Education and Research Service, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, ItalyBackground: In neonatal intensive care units (NICU) setting, parents' experience and satisfaction permit to evaluate clinical practice and improve the care of infants and parents. Little is known about this topic in low resource settings. The aim of this study was to (1) translate, adapt and validate the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care-Neonatology (EMPHATIC-N) questionnaire in two languages in Ethiopia (2) explore parents' satisfaction with the care received in the NICUs in three hospitals; and, (3) explore socio-demographic characteristics and level of the NICU influence on the EMPATHIC-N domains.Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter study. Participants were recruited from three different NICUs in Ethiopia upon discharge. We reduced the original EMPATHIC-N instrument to 38 items, culturally adapted and validated it in two local languages. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to verify the factor structure of the questionnaire, investigating the relationship between items and the five latent domains. Single item scores and the aggregate scores of the domains were investigated across NICUs and in the sample overall. Differences in the distribution of the domain scores were tested according to socio-demographic participants' characteristics. The scores of four general questions about overall experience and satisfaction were investigated in relation to the participant's characteristics and NICU levels. Qualitative data were collected using four open-ended questions and a synthesis of results was provided.Results: Almost all the parents answered to the questionnaire (92%, n = 386). Questionnaire items on satisfaction on average scored more than four. The highest mean scores were obtained for Parental participation (median: 5.17; iqr: 4.67–5.62), while they were lower for Organization/Hospital environment (median: 4.67; iqr:4.33–5.17). Different levels of parent satisfaction were observed across the NICU levels showing a statistically higher satisfaction in level II NICU compared to the other levels. Education, place of residence and length of stay were associated with parental satisfaction and experience.Conclusion: This study validated two Ethiopian versions of the EMPATHIC-N questionnaire to assess parents' experience and satisfaction during their child's stay in the NICU. The differences found across the three levels of NICU suggest the need to further investigate the determinants of satisfaction.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.738863/fullparentssatisfactionneonatal intensive care unitvalidation studysurveys and questionnairesEMPATHIC
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Berhanu Gulo
Laura Miglierina
Francesca Tognon
Francesca Tognon
Silvia Panunzi
Ademe Tsegaye
Tina Asnake
Fabio Manenti
Immacolata Dall'Oglio
spellingShingle Berhanu Gulo
Laura Miglierina
Francesca Tognon
Francesca Tognon
Silvia Panunzi
Ademe Tsegaye
Tina Asnake
Fabio Manenti
Immacolata Dall'Oglio
Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
Frontiers in Pediatrics
parents
satisfaction
neonatal intensive care unit
validation study
surveys and questionnaires
EMPATHIC
author_facet Berhanu Gulo
Laura Miglierina
Francesca Tognon
Francesca Tognon
Silvia Panunzi
Ademe Tsegaye
Tina Asnake
Fabio Manenti
Immacolata Dall'Oglio
author_sort Berhanu Gulo
title Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
title_short Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
title_full Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
title_fullStr Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
title_full_unstemmed Parents' Experience and Satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Using an Adapted Version of EMPATHIC-N
title_sort parents' experience and satisfaction in neonatal intensive care units in ethiopia: a multicenter cross-sectional study using an adapted version of empathic-n
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Pediatrics
issn 2296-2360
publishDate 2021-10-01
description Background: In neonatal intensive care units (NICU) setting, parents' experience and satisfaction permit to evaluate clinical practice and improve the care of infants and parents. Little is known about this topic in low resource settings. The aim of this study was to (1) translate, adapt and validate the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care-Neonatology (EMPHATIC-N) questionnaire in two languages in Ethiopia (2) explore parents' satisfaction with the care received in the NICUs in three hospitals; and, (3) explore socio-demographic characteristics and level of the NICU influence on the EMPATHIC-N domains.Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter study. Participants were recruited from three different NICUs in Ethiopia upon discharge. We reduced the original EMPATHIC-N instrument to 38 items, culturally adapted and validated it in two local languages. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to verify the factor structure of the questionnaire, investigating the relationship between items and the five latent domains. Single item scores and the aggregate scores of the domains were investigated across NICUs and in the sample overall. Differences in the distribution of the domain scores were tested according to socio-demographic participants' characteristics. The scores of four general questions about overall experience and satisfaction were investigated in relation to the participant's characteristics and NICU levels. Qualitative data were collected using four open-ended questions and a synthesis of results was provided.Results: Almost all the parents answered to the questionnaire (92%, n = 386). Questionnaire items on satisfaction on average scored more than four. The highest mean scores were obtained for Parental participation (median: 5.17; iqr: 4.67–5.62), while they were lower for Organization/Hospital environment (median: 4.67; iqr:4.33–5.17). Different levels of parent satisfaction were observed across the NICU levels showing a statistically higher satisfaction in level II NICU compared to the other levels. Education, place of residence and length of stay were associated with parental satisfaction and experience.Conclusion: This study validated two Ethiopian versions of the EMPATHIC-N questionnaire to assess parents' experience and satisfaction during their child's stay in the NICU. The differences found across the three levels of NICU suggest the need to further investigate the determinants of satisfaction.
topic parents
satisfaction
neonatal intensive care unit
validation study
surveys and questionnaires
EMPATHIC
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.738863/full
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