THE STATE OF NURSING PREMATURE NEONATES IN RUSSIA TODAY: RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF NEONATOLOGISTS
Objective. To study the real state of affairs on the introduction of up-to-date medical nursing and intensive care technologies for premature infants in the Russian Federation, by surveying medical specialists. Subject and methods. The results of surveying neonatologists from 80 regions of the Russian Federation on different issues in neonatal care were analyzed. The questionnaire contained 30 questions related to the key aspects of newborn health care to neonatal infants. 421 of 700 sent questionnaires were filled out. A number of replies were obtained during interactive voting. A total of 532 neonatologists took part in the survey. Results. It was found that the obstetricians/gynecologists did not participate in primary neonatal intensive care in the delivery room; either a neonatologist or a team of a neonatologist, a nurse, and, occasionally, an anesthesiologist/resuscitation specialist more frequently did. Over 65% of the respondents had not been trained in respiratory care. More than half of the neonatologists did not provide adequate parenteral nutrition to the infants in need. This survey could reveal the acute problems and weak points which called for corrective actons. Its results allowed the main educational areas of the Department to be shaped in the near future. This was Russia's first independent survey of the specialists; we need a full-scale, well-designed study to obtain reliable results. Conclusion. To survey specialists from different regions of the Russian Federation, by applying a questionnaire on the key issues of health care is an objective method for assessing the readiness of services to render up-to-date specialized care in situ.