Perceived enablers and barriers of kangaroo mother care among mothers and nurses at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020G.C
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Date
2020-09
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Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Background: Kangaroo mother care is care of preterm and low birth weight infants with
early, continuous and prolonged skin- to-skin contact between the mother and the baby, and
with exclusive breastfeeding. It is recommended for the routine care of newborns weighing
2000 g or less at birth. It improves outcomes of premature and low birth weight infants. Even
though kangaroo mother care is now recognized by global experts as an integral part of
essential newborn care, the adoption and implementation of the kangaroo mother care is still
challenging. Despite the high impact and apparent feasibility of kangaroo mother care,
currently, only a few preterm babies in low-income countries have access to this intervention;
coverage of kangaroo mother care has remained low.
Objective: To explore perceived enablers and barriers of kangaroo mother care among
mothers and nurses in neonatal intensive care unit of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: qualitative phenomenological study design was used in the study. A semistructured
in-depth interview was applied to explore the perceived enablers and barriers of
kangaroo mother care among mothers and nurses in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of TASH. A
total of 13 mothers and 7 nurses were included in study with in-depth interview from May
2020 - July 2020 and thematic analysis was conducted.
Result: The study explored major health staff and setting related, medical condition related,
family support related, community support related and caregiver related enablers and barriers
of practicing kangaroo mother care among mothers and nurses. Mothers reported that lack of
understanding of KMC by their family and the presence of family responsibility and workload
were barriers to practice KMC. Lack of awareness of KMC by community, social practice and
traditional adaptation were also mothers reported barriers. In addition mothers also reported
that poor supervision and follow-up, limited resource especially sanitation resource were the
major barriers related to health staff and setting. The presence of back pain and fatigue during kangaroo care also was the barriers reported by mothers. Nurses also reported that scale- up of
kangaroo care was influenced by absence of training, poor attention given by managers and
administrative, shortage of rooms and facilities workload and time shortage related to limited
professionals in the ward.
Conclusion and recommendation: This study offers how different factors influence KMC
utilization among mothers with preterm infants and nurses working at NICU. The finding
indicates that a complex array of barriers and enablers determine a mother’s and nurses ability
to provide KMC. To improve mothers’ and nurse’s performance and promote the health of
preterm infants, supports, such as family, community, and health professional support are
required. Addressing these factors through policy changes and hospital interventions is
essential to enabling optimal neonatal care service.
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Keywords
kangaroo mother care, enablers, barriers, low birth weight, preterm, neonatal intensive care unit.