• Fathers have skin-to-skin contact with their infants
• Fathers participate in important situations
• Fathers receive information and guidance directly
• Both parents participate in meaningful conversations
• The department organize mother and father groups
• The families have the opportunity to have a close family member to support them
• Older siblings have the opportunity to stay overnight.
• The department offer counseling by a social worker

Baseline - before implementation of the intervention

• Fathers have skin-to-skin contact with their infants
• Fathers participate in important situations
• Fathers receive information and guidance directly
• Both parents participate in meaningful conversations
• The department organize mother and father groups
• The families have the opportunity to have a close family member to support them
• Older siblings have the opportunity to stay overnight.
• The department offer counseling by a social worker

The primary outcome was the difference in the overall stress score, determined using the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) score in both the control and intervention groups.

Fathers were asked to rate their stress related to particular situations on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all stressful) to 5 (extremely stressful). Fathers who had not experienced a particular situation on an item indicated this with a "not relevant" response. The maximal score was 5, a high score indicating a high level of paternal stress.

The primary outcome was the difference in fathers' perception of received staff support in the control group compared to the intervention group.

The questionnaire included four dimensions of nurse support: 1) communication of information related to the infant's condition and care (nine items), 2) support mainly directed to enhance parental role (four items), 3) emotional support to help parents cope with their infant's sickness (three items), and 4) caregiving support concerning the quality of care provided to the infant (five items).

For each item, the parents indicated the degree of support on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) 19.

The primary outcome was the difference between the nurses' SE scores for father and mother questions in the intervention group in comparison with the control group

The nurses were asked to evaluate own ability to guide and support the parents in different situations (Self-efficacy score). The SE score was rated on a scale ranging from 1, indicating "Not at all sure," to 10, indicating "Definitely sure".