Factors Influencing The Uptake Of Neonatal Bereavement Support Services – Findings From Two Tertiary Neonatal Centres In The Uk

Title

Factors Influencing The Uptake Of Neonatal Bereavement Support Services – Findings From Two Tertiary Neonatal Centres In The Uk

Creator

Jayanta Banerjee; Charanjit Kaur; Sridhar Ramaiah; Rahul Roy; Narendra Aladangady

Identifier

doi: 10.1186/s12904-016-0126-3

Publisher

Bmc Palliative Care

Date

2016

Subject

Autopsy; Bereavement; England; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Death; Infant Newborn; Intensive Care Units Neonatal; Male; Parents/psychology; Patient Acceptance Of Health Care/statistics & Numerical Data; Perinatal Care/utilization; Referral And Consultation/utilization; Social Support; Socioeconomic Factors; Stillbirth/psychology
Neonatal; Bereavement Follow Up; Death; Ethnicity; Socio-economic; Autopsy

Description

Background

Research on perinatal bereavement services is limited. The aim of the study was to compare the uptake of bereavement support services between two tertiary neonatal units (NNU), and to investigate influencing factors.

Method

The medical and bereavement records of all neonatal deaths were studied from January 2006 to December 2011. Data collected included parent and baby characteristics, mode of death, consent for autopsy and bereavement follow-up. The categorical data were compared by chi-square or Fisher’s exact test and continuous data by Wilcoxon signed-rank test; a multivariable regression analysis was performed using STATA 12.0.

Results

The neonatal deaths of 297 babies (182 in NNU1 and 115 in NNU2) with full datasets were analysed. Baby characteristics were similar between units except for lower median gestational age in NNU1 (p = 0.03). Significantly more NNU1 parents were non-Caucasian (p < 0.01), from lower socio-economic status (p = 0.01) and had previous stillbirth/miscarriage (p = 0.03). More babies had care withdrawn in NNU2 (p < 0.01). A significantly higher proportion of parents from NNU1 (61 %) attended bereavement follow-up compared to NNU2 (34 %; p < 0.01).

On multivariable analysis, significantly more parents who were married or co-habiting (p = 0.02) and consented for an autopsy (p = 0.01) attended bereavement services.

Conclusion

Uptake of bereavement services varied between the two NNUs, which could be due to differences in the ethnic and socio-economic mix of the population. Significantly more parents who were married or co-habiting, or consented for autopsy, attended bereavement follow up services.

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Citation List Month

June 2016 List

Citation

Jayanta Banerjee; Charanjit Kaur; Sridhar Ramaiah; Rahul Roy; Narendra Aladangady, “Factors Influencing The Uptake Of Neonatal Bereavement Support Services – Findings From Two Tertiary Neonatal Centres In The Uk,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed April 19, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/10536.