Marquette Today

Campus News and Events

Submit news

Menu

  • Campus News
    • Top News for Students
    • Top News for Faculty & Staff
    • Magazines at Marquette
    • Campus Alerts
  • Archives
  • Submit news
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Contacts
  • @MarquetteToday
  • University Calendar
  • Topics
    • Community Engagement
    • Diversity
    • Innovation
    • Master Planning
    • Marquette Momentum
    • Research
    • Strategic Planning
  • May 18, 2022

NICU parents experience more stress during pandemic

April 27, 2022

Recent faculty addition Dr. Kathryn Malin is “driven by a deep desire to serve families with premature or sick infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit,” and her research is proof of her passion. 

Recently, Malin was part of a team of nurse scientists who saw a need to understand how parents with infants in the NICU during COVID-19 were affected by the pandemic and how their experiences might have differed from the already-known challenges associated with NICU hospitalization. Initially, the pandemic forced hospitals to limit parental visits to mitigate some risk of disease transmission. Yet, the researchers found, there was very little evidence on how to best decrease the spread of COVID-19 while also providing best care practices, including patient and family-centered care. 

Dr. Kathryn Malin

The researchers conducted a survey of parents to assess family life and routines, financial instability, parent confidence, parent mental health and satisfaction with neonatal care. They also conducted a qualitative analysis of open-ended questions about parenting in the NICU during the pandemic’s first six months. Parents reported significant impacts on family life as well as more financial instability during their infant’s hospitalization amid COVID-19. “Importantly, the negative family and financial impacts of hospitalization were noticeably worse than what had been reported in similar populations prior to the pandemic,” says Malin, assistant professor. 

The results of Malin’s research led to the development of a consensus statement on essential NICU care during the pandemic, which has been endorsed by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, National Perinatal Association, and Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. The statement is available online, so it can be shared in neonatal and pediatric care units. 

“We also believe providers should shift some focus to the family well-being and offer targeted emotional support when families may face additional challenges during their infants’ hospitalization,” Malin says. “We must value families as essential members of the care team in the hospital.”  

—Sarah Koziol, Arts ’92


Filed Under: Research, Sidebar feature stories

More news

Marquette signs transfer partnership with Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College

May 18, 2022

Marquette online education surges

May 18, 2022

Recognizing MUPD during National Police Week

May 18, 2022

Employees who did not complete diversity, equity and inclusion program re-enrolled over summer

May 18, 2022

Register for Ignatian Humanism Summer Book Groups by May 23

May 17, 2022

Outcomes of ‘Finding Our Future’ Mission and Ministry Symposium

May 17, 2022

Education student Stephanie Boedecker to deliver 2022 graduate Commencement address

May 17, 2022

Deadline for academic appeals, May 25

May 17, 2022

More news

Marquette UniversityCopyright 2022 by Marquette University
MARQUETTE.EDU // CONTACTS // A TO Z