Hope and parents of the critically ill newborn: a concept analysis.

Hope is a human phenomenon that is observed repeatedly in the neonatal intensive care unit setting. There have been few studies specifically examining the concept of hope in this population. The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of hope in parents of critically ill newborns. Uses of the concept will be investigated. Critical defining attributes will be provided. Antecedents and consequences of hope will be investigated. An overview of the empirical referents of hope will be presented.