Enhancement of Family-Centred Care Is Associated with a Reduction in Postmenstrual Age at Discharge in Preterm Infants
Background/Objectives: Long hospitalisation has been recognized as an independent risk factor for poor neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants. Systematic training and early inclusion of parents in their preterm infant’s care is a strategy to shorten the length of hospital stay. We implemente...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Children |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/11/1316 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background/Objectives: Long hospitalisation has been recognized as an independent risk factor for poor neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants. Systematic training and early inclusion of parents in their preterm infant’s care is a strategy to shorten the length of hospital stay. We implemented an enhanced stepwise family-centred care program and assessed its effects on postmenstrual age (PMA) at discharge and parental satisfaction. Methods: This prospective single-centre longitudinal cohort study was carried out in a German level III neonatal unit from October 2020 to May 2023. Five consecutive 6-month cohorts (1 baseline and 4 intervention cohorts, 169 infants and their caregivers) were analysed. Results: Mean PMA at discharge did not change in the total cohort but declined significantly in patients without neonatal morbidities from baseline to cohort 4 (37.2 ± 1.4 to 36.1 ± 1.6 weeks; <i>p</i> = 0.036). Concomitantly, discharge with tube feeding raised from 2.4% to 74.1% (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and discharge with home monitoring raised from 9.8% to 74.1% (<i>p</i> < 0.001), while unplanned readmissions remained unchanged (<i>p</i> = 0.44). Parental satisfaction with time point of discharge increased non-significantly from baseline to cohort 4 (75.8% vs. 95.7%; Chi<sup>2</sup> 0.22). Conclusions: Discharge of preterm infants at a significantly lower PMA is feasible through enhancement of family-centred care and is very well accepted by parents. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2227-9067 |