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Study on NICU Feeding Practices is Springboard for Further Research

Valrie Stewart's research didn't give the
conclusive answer she was hoping for, but that
didn't change her mind about the validity of her question. If anything, the results spurred her on to do further research. Valrie completed the research as part of her participation in a SEARCH Custom Evidence Literacy Curriculum.

Stewart's question was: "What are the developmentally appropriate feeding practices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)?" It was a topic of vital professional interest to Stewart, given her long career in maternal, child and NICU nursing and her current position as nurse manager of the NICU at Grande Prairie's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

"Feeding is a source of stress, controversy and conflict in the NICU. Complaints from parents related to feeding are frequent. These incidents caused me to question our feeding protocols. I was hoping to find an evidence-based protocol for feeding that would maximize patient and family outcomes and cause less stress and less controversy.

"I didn't find one. While the science behind feeding preterm infants is well-developed, there is still the art of applying the research. As a result, feeding practices vary widely from place to place."

The results have convinced Stewart that more research needs to be done in order to understand how local practices have developed. She is currently seeking approval to do interviews with parents of children who were in the Grande Prairie NICU. "It will be useful to understand their perspectives, to find out what things they want changed. The step after that will likely involve interviewing healthcare professionals. All this information will be used to bolster our commitment to family-centered care in the NICU.

I had been thinking about this issue for a long time, but the time for thinking was clearly over. SEARCH has been the catalyst for action and has given me the tools to take on this research."