None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Studies in the United Kingdom have shown the feasibility of collecting a standardised core of data with specific criteria for defining disability in children born very preterm at two years of age from questionnaires completed by parents and health care clinicians. Evaluation of outcomes for children born very preterm by questionnaires are very important for the purpose of providing global and epidemiologic information on outcomes, and for planning of services. However, most of the available questionnaires are a subjective assessment of the child and liable to bias. We are proposing the use of questionnaires to collect late morbidity and disability data from the primary health sector in children born very preterm with the support of a structured preterm clinical pathway for screening and surveillance. The pathway has been designed to ensure standardised data collection providing a more objective and valid assessment of late morbidity and disability. It is not designed to replace specialist assessment of a child.
Interventions
Children born very preterm-at a gestation less than 31 completed weeks- at approximately two weeks prior to discharge from the special care nurseries of Queensland tertiary maternity hospitals were randomised to either the preterm-targeted screening and surveillance group (which was a targeted screening program for disability) or to the National Health Medical Research Council screening program (which is the Australian routine and universal child health program for disability). Both groups scree
Children born very preterm-at a gestation less than 31 completed weeks- at approximately two weeks prior to discharge from the special care nurseries of Queensland tertiary maternity hospitals were randomised to either the preterm-targeted screening and surveillance group (which was a targeted screening program for disability) or to the National Health Medical Research Council screening program (which is the Australian routine and universal child health program for disability). Both groups screening programs were cordinated by the child's general practitioner. Screening was conducted over the child's first 12-months corrected age of life. General practitioners used the infomation from their respective programs to complete a questionnaire on disability which they returned to the coordinating centre at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hopsital.
Sponsors
The University of Queensland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to 31 Weeks
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Infants who met the following criteria were enrolled two weeks prior to discharge from the special care nursery by research assistants from each of Queensland's three tertiary maternity hospitals (The Royal Brisbane Women's Hosiptal RBWH, Mater Mother's Hospital MMH, The Townsville Hospital TTH):Inclusion criteria included: infants (male and female) born at a gestation less than 31 completed weeks, whose family could nominate a general practioner and who would return for follow.
Exclusion criteria
none
Outcome results
None listed