Perception of health care providers regarding kangaroo care

Abstract

Background

Kangaroo care has been recommended by different guidelines for its positive impact on both babies and mothers. However, some clinicians may find Kangaroo hug an added burden to their clinical duties, and some others may find it a way of support for their patients. The perception of clinicians towards Kangaroo hugs is still controversial, especially in the Gulf area.

Objective

This study aims to explore the perception and attitude of healthcare providers towards Kangaroo care in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study, the study included a self-administered questionnaire for healthcare providers about the definition and benefit of kangaroo care.

Results

Sixty-six healthcare professionals participated in this study. There was a non-significant difference between scores over different variables. However, professionals in the neonatal department showed higher scores compared to the pediatrics department; females showed a higher score than males, younger participants had a higher score, while doctors showed a higher score than nurses. Additionally, healthcare professionals had an exceptionally good perception of kangaroo care, where the average score for the whole group was 10.39 ± 1.38. The score ranged between 6 and 13. Only 1.5% of the participants got a score of 6, while 4.5% got a score of 13. The mode for perception score was 11, with 36.4% of the participants got this score.

Conclusion

The perception of healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) in both neonatology and pediatrics departments in Saudi Arabia showed to be good and comparable to other countries.