Parent and staff perceptions of racism in a single-center neonatal intensive care unit

Kayla L Karvonen; Olga Smith; Brittany D Chambers Butcher; Linda S Franck; Safyer McKenzie-Sampson; Monica R McLemore; Matthew S Pantell; Elizabeth E Rogers

doi:10.1038/s41390-023-02980-w

Parent and staff perceptions of racism in a single-center neonatal intensive care unit

Pediatr Res. 2024 Jun;95(7):1690-1693. doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02980-w. Epub 2024 Jan 2.

Authors

Kayla L Karvonen^{1

2}, Olga Smith³, Brittany D Chambers Butcher⁴, Linda S Franck⁵, Safyer McKenzie-Sampson^{6

7}, Monica R McLemore⁸, Matthew S Pantell^{9

6}, Elizabeth E Rogers^{9

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. [email protected].
² California Preterm Birth Initiative, San Francisco, CA, USA. [email protected].
³ Independent Researcher, Antioch, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Human Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ California Preterm Birth Initiative, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Abstract

In alignment with previous literature, NICU parents reported experiencing racism and NICU staff reported witnessing racism in the NICU. Our study also uniquely describes personal experiences with racism by staff in the NICU. NICU staff reported witnessing and experiencing racism more often than parents reported. Black staff reported witnessing and experiencing more racism than white staff. Differences in reporting is likely influenced by variations in lived experience, social identities, psychological safety, and levels of awareness. Future studies are necessary to prevent and accurately measure racism in the NICU.

MeSH terms

Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel*
Black or African American / psychology
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal*
Male
Parents* / psychology
Perception
Racism*
White / psychology