Nurses' encouragement of your participation in your baby's care when possible

Following their baby’s hospital stay in the intensive care unit (NICU), parents are surveyed about the care. One question is regarding whether they felt nurses encouraged them to participate in care, such as changing diapers or taking temperature. The possible answers are: Very good, good, fair, poor and very poor.

Research has shown that the interaction premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have with their caregivers has an impact on their development and can have an influence on the course of their hospital stay. At Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s NICU, we strive to provide the best care for each infant, while encouraging parents to participate in their child’s care whenever possible. When a hospital performs well in this measure, it may indicate that they provide a higher level of patient care.

About this measure

This measure tracks the percentage of parents who reported that nurses encouragement was either “very good” or “good.”

Note: In this measure, a higher number is better.