Abstract:
The purposes of this descriptive study were as follows_1) investigate anxiety; 2) the fit
of demand and receipt of family-centered care; and 3) the relationship between the fit of demand
and receipt of family-centered care and anxiety of parents in ailing newborns. Family - Centered
Care and Person-Environment Fit models were used to guide the study. The purposive sample
was composed of 103 parents whose newborns were admitted to the special newborn care unit
(PED4) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), at Ramathibodi Hospital during June to
September, 2006. The instruments used for screening and collecting data were the demographic
questionnaire, the Spielberger Stat-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the demand and receipt of
family-centered care questionnaire that was developed and modified by the researcher. Data
were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s correlation coefficient.
The results showed that the parents have moderate anxiety. There was not fit between
demand and receipt of family-centered care scores; the demand scores were higher than the
receipt scores, particularly, the exchange information aspect. Moreover, there was no
statistically significant correlation between the fit of demand and receipt of family-centered care
and anxiety of parents in ailing newborns. The recommendation from this study is that
strategies to improve nursing care system are needed to promote family-centered care for better
nursing care.