Parent Stress in Relation to Use of Bedside Telehealth, an Initiative to Improve Family-Centeredness of Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth technologies have become critical to providing family and patient-centered care. Little is known about the impact of these technologies on parent stress levels in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). We sought to determine the impact of bedside web cameras on stress levels of parents in the NICU in order to work toward interventions that might improve family-centered care. A validated survey, the Parental Stress Scale NICU, was administered to parents of babies admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Neonatal/Infant Intensive Care Unit on days 7 to 10 of hospitalization. Parents were also asked if they used the available AngelEye Camera while their baby was hospitalized. Stress levels were analyzed for associations with the use of the bedside cameras. Parents who reported using the bedside camera also reported lower levels of stress relating to being separated from their babies. Bedside web camera interventions may hold potential for reducing parent stress related to separation from their babies, especially in the setting of a global pandemic.