The lived experiences of critically ill infants hospitalised in neonatal intensive care: A scoping review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Neonatal intensive care saves lives, but the environment in which this occurs is complex and has been shown to negatively disrupt some aspects of an infant's early development. Identifying these negative effects has relied on measuring physiological and behavioural responses. Little research has sought to understand and learn from what an individual infant can communicate about their lived experience. AIM: To examine what is known of the lived experiences of infants hospitalised in neonatal intensive care. STUDY DESIGN: A scoping review using the revised Arksey and O'Malley framework was undertaken. Relevant studies, exploring an infant's experience of hospitalisation were identi..