Iran Journal of Nursing

1. Introduction
Infant hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a psychological crisis that causes stress and disability for the family. In critical situations, the healthcare team’s knowledge is devoted to patient care, while it is necessary to emphasize the family’s needs. Numerous studies report a lack of support for family caregivers and a lack of attention to their needs. The health team should understand the responsibilities and requirements of caregivers and examine them in terms of physical, social, and psychological needs and supportive and financial problems. This study aimed to determine the impact of the family-centered empowerment model on parents’ Quality of Life (QoL) with premature infants admitted to a neonatal ICU (39).
2. Materials and Methods
This quasi-experimental controlled study was performed on 84 patients (parents) with healthy preterm infants admitted to the ICU. Samples were continuously targeted in both intervention and control groups. They received training sessions in 4 steps and 8 sessions:
Step 1 (understanding the threat through group discussion): During two 30-60-minute sessions, group discussion raises awareness about a healthy baby, including skincare, healthy eating, healthy sleep, and sensitizing parents to symptoms. The researcher posed a threat.
Step 2 (promoting self-efficacy through problem-solving): At the beginning of the third session, the ambiguities and questions of the parents were answered; then, during two 60-minute sessions, a group discussion and demonstration about correct breastfeeding positions, how to deal with colic or colic in infants and familiarity and how to deal with a trembling child were discussed.
Step 3 (Promoting self-esteem through educational participation): During three 30-60-minute group discussion sessions, clients were asked to teach their family members the lessons learned in the researcher’s presence to share their experiences. Leave other people in the group and ask questions to yourself or family members in the group and get the answer.
Step 4 (evaluation): In the last session, individuals’ level of knowledge and ability to transfer information from educational cases were examined. The power of the subjects was also assessed by the competency questionnaire (including the three dimensions: threat perception, self-efficacy, and self-esteem). 
A demographic questionnaire and WHOQOL-BREF QoL questionnaire once at the beginning of the study and again one month after completion. Intervention sessions were completed, and the data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and Spearman and Shapiro-Wilk correlation coefficient using SPSS software.
3. Results
There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding demographic characteristics, baseline competency scores (self-efficacy, self-esteem, severity, and sensitivity), and QoL. The total QoL score (P=0.041) in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group. In-group comparison, empowerment scores (self-esteem, self-efficacy (P<0.001)) of both groups and intensity and sensitivity scores (P<0.001) showed a significant increase only in the intervention group. In terms of QoL, in the psychological dimension (P=0.042), social (P=0.003), environmental, and total scores (P<0.001) in the intervention group and the total score dimension (P=0.41), There was a significant increase in environmental performance (P<0.001) in the control group.
4. Conclusion
The family-centered empowerment model has improved some QoL factors. Further studies are needed to meet a definitive conclusion in this regard. It is suggested that future researchers strengthen the family-centered empowerment program in less effective dimensions. Other studies should also be performed on using a family-centered empowerment program to empower pregnant women with the possibility of preterm delivery and its effectiveness after delivery.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This syudy was approved by the ethical committee of the Iran University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.IUMS.REC.1394.165) and permission and referral letter have been obtained from Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences.

Funding
The paper was extracted from the MSc. thesis of the first author, Department of Neonatal and Pediatric Nursing Faculty of Nursing, Iran University of Medical Sciences. 

Authors' contributions
All authors equally contributed to preparing this article. 

Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.


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