ORIGINAL ARTICLE Needs of parents in a surgical neonatal intensive care unit Priya Govindaswamy, 1,2 Sharon Laing, 3 Donna Waters, 2,4 Karen Walker, 1,2,4 Kaye Spence 1 and Nadia Badawi 1,2 1 Grace Centre for Newborn Care, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, 2 Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 3 School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University and 4 Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Aim: While there is evidence of parental needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), parents of newborns admitted for general surgery are an under-researched population. This study aimed to identify needs in parents of newborns admitted to the NICU for general surgery and whether health-care professionals meet these needs. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of 111 parents (57% mothers) of newborns admitted to a surgical NICU for general surgery in Australia from January 2014 to September 2015. Parents completed the Neonatal Family Needs Inventory (NFNI), comprising 56 items in five sub- scales (Support, Comfort, Information, Proximity, Assurance) at admission and discharge, as well as the Social Desirability Scale (SDS). Data were analysed using parametric and non-parametric techniques. Results: At both admission and discharge, parents rated Assurance (M = 3.8, standard deviation (SD) = 0.24) needs as the most important, fol- lowed by Proximity (M = 3.6, SD = 0.32) and Information (M = 3.5, SD = 0.38). Mothers rated Assurance significantly more important than fathers (P < 0.02). Overall, parents’ most important needs were having questions answered honestly (M = 3.96, SD = 0.19), seeing their infant frequently and knowing about the medical treatment (both M = 3.95, SD = 0.23). The 10 most important needs were met for more than 96% of parents, with no evidence of response bias. Conclusions: Reassurance is a priority need for parents in the surgical NICU. Mothers’ and fathers’ needs may be best met by practices based on family-centred, individualised care principles. Key words: infant; needs of parents; neonatal intensive care; neonatal surgery; newborn; parents. What is already known on this topic 1 Parents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) report a great need for open and honest information. 2 There are limited data regarding fathers and conflicting reports about differences between mothers’ and fathers’ needs. 3 Few studies have investigated whether parents’ needs are met by NICU staff, yet unmet needs may be a potential source of stress. What this paper adds 1 Assurance is a priority for parents of infants undergoing major general surgery for congenital anomalies in the NICU. 2 Infant pain management is a unique concern in this parent population. 3 Parents’ needs would be best met by family-centred, individua- lised care practices. Identifying and meeting parental needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an important factor in achieving the best out- comes for newborns and their families. Approximately 3% of infants born in Australia require admission to an NICU for life- threatening congenital abnormalities, preterm birth and other conditions. 1 Congenital anomalies affect up to 5% of all infants in Australia and are a leading cause of infant mortality, 2,3 with many birth defects requiring early surgical intervention. Over the past decade, survival rates in surgical neonatal units in Australia have risen above 95%. 4 As survival increases and major neurode- velopmental consequences, such as cerebral palsy, decrease, 4,5 health professionals are turning their attention to psychosocial consequences such as parental depression 6 and attachment disor- ders. 7 Parents of hospitalised newborns face many challenges, giving rise to a variety of needs, and it has been shown that par- ents of preterm newborns 8 and infants requiring neonatal sur- gery for complex congenital cardiac anomalies 9 experience significant stress. In the NICU, the illness trajectory of newborns requiring major surgery is consistently acute, requiring complex care, and includes risks associated with anaesthesia, surgery, post-operative complications and pain management. Parents’ needs in the NICU are likely to be impacted on by the unique challenges their baby faces. Increasingly, the role of NICU health- care professionals encompasses identifying parents’ needs and supporting families; this issue is more complicated than it appears. Correspondence: Ms Priya Govindaswamy, Grace Centre for Newborn Care, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Corner of Hainsworth Street and Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. Fax: +61 29845 2251; email: priya.govindaswamy@health.nsw.gov.au Conflict of interest: None declared. Accepted for publication 7 September 2018. doi:10.1111/jpc.14249 Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health (2018) © 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians) 1