Webcam-use in the NICU-setting from the perspective of Health Care Professionals and its implication for communication with parents

Abstract

BackgroundIn Germany, a growing number of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are equipped with webcams. The utilization of webcams in the NICU is gaining greater attention and the impact of this technology can be manifold. However, there has been no definite understanding of its impact. We will highlight the webcam's implications on the communication between parents and Health Care Professionals (HCPs) in German NICUs.Methods20 interviews were conducted with HCPs from three German NICUs between December 2019 and August 2020 according to a qualitative research design. Seven out of them had no webcam experience, whereas for 13 of them, webcam-use is part of their working routine. Interviews were analyzed following Kuckartz's thematic analysis. Findings were assessed in accordance with the NICU Communication Framework.ResultsHCPs consider the webcams as a beneficial addition to the interaction of parents with their infants, as well as the HCP-parent interaction. At the same time, HCPs created new pathways of communication with parents via the webcam. Any negative effects feared by HCPs without webcam experience regarding the communication with parents, including a lasting shift of conversation away from the infant and toward more technical aspects of the webcams, but also an increase in phone calls from parents and an associated increase in workload, could not be confirmed by HCPs with webcam experience.ConclusionThe findings indicate that the implementation of webcams in German NICUs not only has an influence on the communication between parents and HCPs, but it expands communicative pathways. It can be stated that they support tailored communication but are not necessarily sufficient to account for all aspects themselves. The results of this study help to assess the impact of webcams on communication between parents and HCPs and should be applied to strengthen it within NICUs equipped with webcams.Clinical trial registrationThe Neo-CamCare Study is registered at the German Clinical Trial Register. DRKS-ID: DRKS0001775; Date of registration: 05/09/2019.