Fathers' perceptions of neonatal nursing support

Aim: To investigate fathers' perceptions of nursing support in the neonatal unit. Background: nursing supports for parents in the NNU is known to facilitate their coping in a stressful environment. Fathers are increasingly becoming more involved in their children's care and yet the majority of studies on support in the NNU tend to focus on mothers. There is paucity of research investigating fathers support needs and those published are mainly qualitative. Method: A quantitative descriptive design with fathers (n=58) using an instrument underpinned by social support theory. Findings: Overall fathers (n=50) indicated receiving a high level of neonatal nursing support and eight fathers (n=8) received a moderate amount. Overall, fathers indicated receiving a moderate to high level in information, emotional, appraisal and care-giving functional nursing supports. Of the four functional nursing supports, emotional support was deemed the lowest. Conclusion: on admission to NNU, all fathers should be assessed to determine their functional social support needs within the unit. Neonatal nurses need to reflect on their relationship with fathers. Following individual assessment, care plans should address the unique nursing support needs of fathers and the most appropriate person to provide each functional social support within the NNU, including emotional support.