The involvement of families in the care of their infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) may be influenced by the unit environment (O'Brien et al., 2013). The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of the open pod NICU through the research question: What is the impact of unit design in the NICU at Kingston General Hospital (KGH) on the lived experiences of families? A qualitative descriptive design was followed using semi-structured interviews conducted with family members of infants in the NICU at KGH. Themes constructed through thematic analysis of transcripts included Needing more space, Creating a comfortable environment, Having a sense of community, Desiring consistency in staffing and Barriers to being present. The narrative of these themes aligns with Donabedian's (2003) theoretical model of structure, process and outcome. The findings from this research indicated that being cared for in an open pod NICU impacted their family experiences, displaying areas for improvement in future NICU designs.
Author Keywords: Family experience, FiCare, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), NICU design, NICU environment, Open pod NICU