The effect of individualised developmental care behaviours of neonatal intensive care nurses on nurses' quality of life

Stressors experienced by babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, the area where the baby is cared for and primary caregivers have a great impact on the development of the newborn. In the literature, there is no study examining the effect of individualised developmental care practices on the quality of life of nurses. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of individualised developmental care behaviours of neonatal intensive care nurses on nurses' quality of life. The study was conducted between April 2023 and June 2023 with 139 nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit of private, training and research hospitals (state/foundation) and city hospitals in Turkey. Data were collected using the "Participant Identification Form", "Nurse Individualised Developmental Care Behaviours (Implementation) Questionnaire" and "Quality of Life Scale for Employees". As a result of the study; compassion satisfaction scores of nurses working for 10 years or more were found to be higher. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean scores of individualised developmental care practices and the institution where they worked. It was found that the individualised developmental care practices scores of nurses working in private hospitals and receiving training on individualised developmental care were higher. A statistically significant positive moderate relationship was found between individualised developmental care and professional satisfaction, and a statistically significant negative weak relationship was found between burnout. There was no statistically significant relationship between individualised developmental care and compassion fatigue. It was determined that the implementation of Individualised Developmental Care Practices increased the quality of working life of nurses. It was recommended that studies should be conducted to increase the level of awareness about individualised developmental care and in-house routine trainings should be organised to increase awareness.