Original Article

Journal of Perinatology (2007) 27, S75–S93; doi:10.1038/sj.jp.7211843

Implementing potentially better practices to support the neurodevelopment of infants in the NICU

S Laudert1, W F Liu2, S Blackington3, B Perkins3, S Martin4, E MacMillan-York5, S Graven6 and J Handyside7 on behalf of the NIC/Q 2005 Physical Environment Exploratory Group

  1. 1Department of Neonatology, Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, KS, USA
  2. 2Department of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida/Lee Memorial Health System, Fort Myers, FL, USA
  3. 3Department of Neonatology, Benefis Healthcare, Great Falls, MT, USA
  4. 4Department of Neonatology, Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
  5. 5Department of Neonatology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada
  6. 6University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
  7. 7Improvision, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence: Dr W Liu, The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, 9981 South HealthPark Drive, Suite 281, Fort Myers, FL 33908, USA. E-mail: william.liu.md@leememorial.org

Top

Abstract

Objective:

 

The purpose of the Vermont Oxford Neonatal Quality Improvement Collaborative 2005 was to explore improvements related to the physical environment of the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) in order to optimize the neurodevelopmental outcome of newborns.

Study Design:

 

Five centers were involved in a focus group examining NICU environmental design and its impact on the neurodevelopmental outcome of the neonate. Using an evidence-based approach, the group identified 16 potentially better care practices. This article describes the implementation approaches for some of these practices. The practice areas include tactile stimulation, providing early exposure to mother's scent, minimizing exposure to noxious odors, developing a system for noise assessment of the NICU acoustic environment, minimizing ambient noise in the infants environment, and preservation of sleep.

Result:

 

Approaches to implementation were center specific. Optimizing neurodevelopment of the newborn was the desired goal, but this outcome is difficult to measure with a limited number of subjects over a short study period. Many of the changes although intuitively beneficial are difficult to measure. Education of all participants was considered essential to the process of implementation.

Conclusion:

 

The process of collaborative quality improvement is useful in identifying ways to optimize the physical environment of the NICU to improve the neurodevelopmental outcome of the neonate.

Keywords:

collaborative quality improvement, neonatal intensive care, NIC/Q 2005, potentially better practices, neurodevelopmental

Extra navigation

.

naturejobs

More science jobs
Post a job for free
ADVERTISEMENT