Experiences and preferences for learning about neonatal research: insights from parent interviews

Introduction Parents struggle with being asked to participate in neonatal research. Past work has largely failed to include views of minoritized parents, low-socioeconomic status parents, and those who declined research. We aimed to describe parents’ preferences related to learning about eligibility for neonatal research. Methods Qualitative interviews of parents who were asked to enroll their infant in neonatal research. Themes related to parental experiences and preferences for learning about neonatal research were identified using content analysis. Results Many parents desired greater involvement of their clinical team. Emotions at the time of recruitment were critically important to parents’ experience, where were deeply impacted by interpersonal relationships with research staff. Discussion Increased involvement of the clinical team and greater sensitivity to the stressors around parent and infant conditions at the time of recruitment for neonatal research should be considered by those attempting to improve recruitment for neonatal research.