Orchestrating Human Connection in Digital NICUs: Leadership Strategies for Technology‐Enhanced Family‐Centred Care

AIM(S): To explore how neonatal nurse leaders sustain human-centred care while implementing digital technologies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive multi-site study across four NICUs in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia (November 2024-May 2025), reported in accordance with COREQ. METHODS: Purposive maximum-variation sampling recruited 24 neonatal nurse leaders across leadership levels, hospital types and digital maturity stages. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Arabic or English, transcribed, translated as needed and thematically analysed in NVivo 14 using a hybrid inductive-deductive approach. Directed content analysis of key organisational documents enabled triangulation. Trustworthiness was supported through member checking, peer debriefing, audit trail, external review and double coding of a subset of transcripts. RESULTS: Four interrelated strategies were identified: (1) embedding a values-based human-centred vision; (2) selecting and customising digital tools to strengthen, not replace, nurse-family connection; (3) redesigning workflows (e.g., device-free openings, protected presence time, family-inclusive portals) to preserve presence and partnership; and (4) fostering team capability and psychological safety for digital-human integration. CONCLUSION: Human-centred care in digital NICUs is intentionally led and structurally engineered. The study offers a practice-ready framework that translates values into reproducible routines within complex sociotechnical systems. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: The framework supports nurse leaders in aligning digital transformation with family-centred care, protecting nurse-family presence, and enhancing safety, trust and partnership for high-risk neonates. IMPACT: Addresses risks of relational erosion in digital and AI-enabled NICUs and provides transferable nurse-led strategies to sustain ethical, family-centred practice. REPORTING METHOD: COREQ-compliant qualitative study. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.