Neonatal Intensive Care: A Global Perspective of Similarities and Differences in Selected Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Brazil, Chile, the United States, and Zambia

Nurses working in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide share common goals of providing high quality care and promoting healthy outcomes for high-risk newborns and their families. There are wide differences across the globe, however, in the specific challenges that NICU nurses face in meeting these common goals and in the ways in which nursing care is provided to address these challenges. Neonatal nurses have much to learn from one another by sharing their common and unique challenges and solutions to those challenges. This article describes the practice of neonatal intensive care nursing in 4 NICUs located in Brazil, Chile, the United States, and Zambia to highlight both similarities and differences in the practice of neonatal nursing in diverse global settings. The article concludes with a discussion of the similarities and differences in challenges faced by nurses in these 4 units and recommendations about ways to address these challenges to promote equity and health for all across the globe.