IMPROVING COMMUNICATION IN NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Key words: Communication, Relationship, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

A good relation in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) is necessary to treat and care for the newborn and his family. The preterm birth and the admitting to NICUs put the parents under great stress. A therapeutic alliance is necessary to avoid conflicts. This is possible if all the people working there try to find the way to get the best communication. The experience of counselling learning course attended by the whole team and the initial use of specific communication tools like the “Communication algorithms” and the “Communication Case Sheet” are described. The results on the relationship between families and all the health care professionals are reported.