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Muniraman H, Ali M, Cawley P, et al. Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020;4(1):e000899doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899.
Muniraman, H., Ali, M., Cawley, P., Hillyer, J., Heathcote, A., Ponnusamy, V., Coleman, Z., Hammonds, K., Raiyani, C., Gait-Carr, E., Myers, S., Hunt, K., Govande, V., Jain, A., Clark, R., Doherty, C., Raju, V., & Clarke, P. (2020). Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ paediatrics open, 4(1), e000899. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899
Muniraman, Hemananda, et al. "Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic." BMJ paediatrics open vol. 4,1 (2020): e000899. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899
Muniraman H, Ali M, Cawley P, Hillyer J, Heathcote A, Ponnusamy V, Coleman Z, Hammonds K, Raiyani C, Gait-Carr E, Myers S, Hunt K, Govande V, Jain A, Clark R, Doherty C, Raju V, Clarke P. Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Nov 11;4(1):e000899. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899. eCollection 2020. PMID: 34192184; PMCID: PMC7661349.
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BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Nov 11;4(1):e000899. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899. eCollection 2020.

Parental perceptions of the impact of neonatal unit visitation policies during COVID-19 pandemic.

BMJ paediatrics open

Hemananda Muniraman, Mahmoud Ali, Paul Cawley, Jessica Hillyer, Adam Heathcote, Vennila Ponnusamy, Zoe Coleman, Kendall Hammonds, Chandni Raiyani, Eleanor Gait-Carr, Sarah Myers, Katie Hunt, Vinayak Govande, Anoo Jain, Reese Clark, Cora Doherty, Venkata Raju, Paul Clarke

Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
  2. Saint Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
  3. Neonatology Association Limited, Obstetrix Medical Group of Phoenix, Mednax, Phoenix, United States.
  4. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott and White McLane Children's Medical Center, Temple, Texas, USA.
  5. Division of Neonatology, Department of Paediatrics, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK.
  6. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Jenny Lind Children's Hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
  7. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chertsey, Surrey, UK.
  8. Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, Temple, Texas, USA.
  9. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff, UK.
  10. MEDNAX Inc, Sunrise, Florida, USA.
  11. Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.

PMID: 34192184 PMCID: PMC7661349 DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000899

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain parental perceptions of the impact of restricted visiting policies to neonatal intensive care units during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of parents impacted by visitation policies.

SETTING: Six tertiary level neonatal units, four from the UK and two from the USA, participated in the study.

PARTICIPANTS: Parents and families of infants hospitalised in the participating centres between 1 May 2020 and 21 August 2020.

METHODS: Online-based and/or paper-based survey, querying the visitation policies and their impact on parents' ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants.

RESULTS: A total of 231 responses were received. Visitation limited to a single visitor with no restrictions on duration was the most frequently reported policy; 140/217 (63%). Visitation policies were perceived as being restrictive by 62% (138/219) of the respondents with 37% (80/216) reporting being able to visit less often than desired, 41% (78/191) reporting being unable to bond enough and 27% (51/191) reporting not being able to participate in their baby's daily care. Mild to severe impact on breast feeding was reported by 36% (75/209) of respondents. Stricter policies had a higher impact on families and were significantly associated with a lack of bonding time, inability to participate in care and an adverse impact on breast feeding.

CONCLUSIONS: Visitation policies during the COVID-19 pandemic varied between centres and over time with stricter restrictions implemented earlier on in the pandemic. Parents reported significant impacts on their ability to visit, care for and bond with their infants with perceived severity of impact worse with stricter restrictions.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Keywords: health services research; neonatology

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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