Parents & apos; understanding and experiences of blood component transfusion in the neonatal intensive care unit: A qualitative study

Aim: Blood component transfusion is a common intervention in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Parents consent on their babies' behalf. This study aimed to explore parents' understandings and experiences of consenting and the subsequent blood transfusion.Methods: A low inference qualitative descriptive semi-structured interview approach was utilised. Grounded theory was employed. Parents described their memories of babies' transfusions, their responses to the consent process and assessed the written information they were given.Results: A purposive sample of 17 parents whose babies required blood transfusion in the NICU participated. Parents talked about their initial fears of transfusion, later replaced by confidence in the process and results of transfusion and trust in the healthcare professional team. The main themes elicited by the interviews were parents' expectations and outcomes of transfusion, parents' prior and current opinions of transfusion, parents trust in healthcare professionals and how parents would like to receive information about transfusions in the NICU.Conclusion: Parents in our study trust information from the healthcare professionals caring for their baby and would like more specific information about how blood transfusion will impact their baby, in a variety of means. Parents felt that blood transfusions were beneficial for their babies.

Automated summary

This study aimed to explore parents' understandings and experiences of consenting and the subsequent blood transfusion in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The findings showed that parents initially had fears about the transfusion but later gained confidence in the process and results, and they developed trust in the healthcare professional team. Parents expressed the desire for more specific information about the impact of blood transfusion on their babies.