Project Title

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the neonatal nursing community: Caring for babies born sick or preterm in a time of contagium 

Research Focus

A discourse analysis on personal accounts from neonatal nurses working during the pandemic, seen in relation to the published literature and media coverage

Funder & Dates

ESRC impact acceleration account - £3,000 – to commence in July / August 2020

Principal Investigator or Primary Supervisor (if PhD project)

Dr Breidge Boyle 

Co-Investigators or additional supervisors

Research Fellow(s) or PhD Student

Name & Institution of Collaborators

Julia Petty, University of Herefordshire, Katie Gallagher, University College London and Alex Manchini, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital  

Name of External Partner Organisations

Description of Project:

Aim; Methods; Expected Outcomes

Family centred care underpins global neonatal practices. Unprecedented changes have arisen following the emergence of COVID-19 however, impacting how this is achieved. Changes in policies such as visiting have restricted the ability of parents to freely visit their baby, and the use of PPE prohibits any form of parent-baby bonding through skin to skin contact. The impact of these changes may take some time to emerge. By exploring the immediate experiences of nurses working on neonatal units, we will gain an understanding of practice changes and potential reasons behind any resulting COVID-19 maternal and neonatal outcomes. Analysis of COVID-19 responsive policy documents will allow us to (a) align these experiences with official guidance and (b) explore the impact of emergent policy documents.    

We aim to carry out a discourse analysis on communication (reflections and blogs) that have already been submitted by neonatal nurses worldwide, to the Journal of Neonatal Nursing (Breidge Boyle is editor in chief), the UK Neonatal Nurses Association and the Council of International Neonatal Nurses in conjunction with the merging policy documents which are driving changes as a result of COVID 19.  

This will give us an insight into how COVID-19 has impacted global neonatal care, taking into account how and when neonatal units may begin easing restrictions following the outbreak. 

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Any other relevant information