Perceptions of a strategy to prevent and relieve care provider distress in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: A Midwestern neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) employs a multidisciplinary conference, the Comprehensive Care Round (CCR), to facilitate communication and consensus building and thereby prevent or address moral distress within the health care team.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey, 3 years after implementation of CCR, to evaluate health care providers' (HCP) perceptions of comfort with expressing distress, support from team members in care situations that evoke moral distress, barriers to communication, and attainment of CCR objectives.

Results: Of 370 HCP, 116 (31%) participated in the survey (42% nurses, 37% allied health, and 21% medical); 51% had previously attended CCR.