Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Having a preterm born infant being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an extremely stressful and traumatic time for parents. Clinicians in the NICU have identified the urgent need to better support parents during this difficult time but also to better prepare them for the time their baby will be discharged home. However, it is unclear (1) what the specific psychosocial and emotional needs of parents are during this unique period and, (2) what are some of the barriers to their continued engagement in the care of their child. Self-Efficacy has been shown to promote parental engagement and parent mental health and well-being. Dr. Montreuil has developed a Parent-focused resilience program to support parents by making them feel empowered and self-competent in their parenting role and its associated challenges; critically more important in the case of NICU families. The CIHR planning and dissemination grant will support the adaptation of Dr. Montreuil's program to the specific context and needs of the parent of preterm-born infants at the NICU. Funds will support conducting focus groups with parents and clinicians to collect data about their current lived experience, their needs, and preference with respect to possible intervention, as well as the current barriers to developing a parental sense of personal (self) competence, which are critical to the well-being of the developing child and new family. More importantly, given the current demands placed on healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the post COVID context, more self-empowered and reliant NICU parenting also represents a potential alleviation of the burden placed on the NICU nursing staff. As such, we will be critically assessing the lived experience of knowledge users, parents and HCPs, both pre and post-parental support exposure. Knowledge mobilization activities will include the preparation and writing of two papers as well as clinical rounds, conference presentations and media op-eds.