WIP 85 - Increasing parental awareness and introducing developmental monitoring for newborns after nursery and NICU discharge.

Publication Number: WIP 85.7618

Tiffany Nguyen, Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, NY, United States; Murriam Masood, Richmond univeristy medical Centre, Staten Island, NY, United States; Ahmed Bayoumy, Richmond University Medical Center - RUMC, Staten Island, NY, United States; Ayesha Usman, Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, NY, United States; Minaxi Vora, Minaxi Vora MD, STATEN ISLAND, NY, United States; Inna Miroshnichenko, Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, NY, United States

Background: Neurodevelopment is a substantial source of concern for parents during NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) admission and childhood, particularly for children born very preterm. Providing clinical education resources detailing infant developmental expectations and supportive strategies for parents of these high-risk infants allows for timely referrals to early intervention services and community resources. A free, reputable and easily accessible resource “Learn Signs, Act Early” (LSAE) from Center for Disease Control (CDC) is an excellent educational resource for the parents. The results of the first phase of our project proved that just the introduction of CDC resource significantly increased parental interest and their intent to use the resource for Developmental Monitoring.

Objective: Our goal was to develop the most effective strategies for engaging new parents in Developmental monitoring, especially the parents of NICU graduates. We wanted to understand differences in parental engagement in Developmental Monitoring (DM) between families discharged from NICU and Newborn Nursery (NBN).

Design/Methods: This was a 6-month (October 2024 to March 2024) 2nd phase retrospective pre and post intervention study that studied parental attitude and engagement in DM in 2 settings (hospital -upon the discharge of the neonate, and outpatient clinic at 2- and 4-months old well child visits). We used the strategy Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to implement changes in promoting Developmental Monitoring. Pre-test was administered to 100 consented parents, which included the measures of parental attitude regarding the importance of DM. Post-test assessment included the use of the resource and the reasons for non-use. Immediate intervention for non-users was done at 2 months old visits, and another post-test was administered at 4 months old visit. Secondary outcome measures were related to the differences in parental attitude/engagement regarding DM in parents of preemies versus parents of healthy newborns.