Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | The new frontier of personalized assistance for the prematory newborn: the NIDCAP method |
|---|---|
| Name | Santunione Ottavia |
| Supervisor(s) | Masoni Barbara, Fratucello Giorgia |
| Academic Year | 2017/18 |
| Thesis type | Non research thesis |
Abstract
Preterm infants leave the uterine environment before they have fully developed and suddenly find themselves in the Neonatal ICU, which doesn’t meet the newborn development expectations. In order to allow for a more substantial growth and decrease the risk of future disabilities, a new kind of personalized assistance - the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assesment Program (NIDCAP) - has been implemented. This method is based on H. Als’s Synactive Theory, according to which the preterm organism is composed of 5 subsystems that continuously interact with each other and with the environment, so that the newborn can complete their developmental process. This approach consists in observing the newborn's behavior, in order to create individualized assistance developmental programs correlated to their developmental stage and clinical conditions, respecting the newborn’s needs, as well as their family’s ones. Adopting the NIDCAP method in the Neonatal ICU implies a significant adjustment for the caregiver, since the assistance shifts the paradigm from the conventional “curing” to a more holistic “taking care”, being focused on the relationship and the communication with the infant and their family, which are essential aspects in the assistance process.