Braithwaite, Suzanne

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

Vaccine hesitancy continues to influence public health practice in Ontario, particularly within a system that requires parents to complete non-medical exemptions under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, 1990. The purpose of this study was to explore how vaccine-hesitant parents understand their decisions and navigate institutional processes during the exemption pathway. Using Thorne's (2016) Interpretive Description, seven parents from Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews focused on experiences of trust, communication, and interactions with public health. Themes developed were:mutual othering, the role of epistemic conflict, vaccine refusal and exemption as symbolic resistance and restructuring trust through relationships. These findings show that vaccine decision-making is influenced not only by beliefs about safety or access, but also by the relational and moral context in which information is delivered. The study offers insights for public health nursing practice by highlighting the importance of relational approaches, ethical communication, and trust-building within mandatory immunization systems.

Author Keywords: immunization policy, institutional trust, interpretive description, parental decision-making, public health nursing, Vaccine hesitancy