NICU Infants, Physical Therapy
Conditions
Keywords
Physical Therapy, NICU infants, Parental Stress
Brief summary
To learn if and how the physical and occupational therapy program in the Newborn Critical Care Center helps parents with their stress levels and ability to meet the needs of their preterm infants.
Detailed description
Composed of one retrospective group and two prospective groups. Each group will be defined based on the stage of enrollment, which will coincide with the rollout of two different standard-of-care initiatives in the hospital. These initiatives are determined outside of the study protocol. The retrospective group will be composed of infants that are under the current initiative. The small baby unit will then be implemented within the hospital site, and infants and parents enrolled at that time will reflect the impact of the small baby unit. The small baby unit will then transition into an immersive physical therapy model, and any infants and parents enrolled at that time will reflect the impact of this second-tier initiative.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Foundation for Physical Therapy Research
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
OTHER
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
0 Years to 99 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Infant Inclusion Criteria: * \<29 weeks gestation at birth * born or transferred to UNC's Newborn Critical Care Center within the first 48 hours of life * If in the SBU or Immersive PT groups: Must be cared for at certain UNC Hospital locations through at least 34 weeks postmenopausal age Infant
Exclusion criteria
* Has a high likelihood of transferring to an outside hospital * Has a genetic abnormality, congenital neurological or musculoskeletal disorder Maternal Inclusion Criteria: * Is the biological parent * Sex is female * Understands English or Spanish Language * Is at least 18 years of age Maternal
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of physical therapy visits | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | The number of physical therapy visits to the infant's bedside per week, as noted in the medical record |
| Number of physical therapy minutes billed | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | The number of physical therapy minutes billed per week as noted in the medical record |
| Number of physical therapy interactions by parent | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | The number of times per week that mothers report doing physical therapy with their infant, with higher numbers indicating a greater dosage |
| Infant Motor Skills | Assessed at 34 to 36 weeks postmenstrual age | Motor skills will be measured via the Test of Infant Motor Performance, a 42-item test of functional motor skills with age standards from 34 weeks post-menstrual age through 17 weeks post-term. Scores range from 0 to 142 with higher scores indicating better performance. Scores are transformed into an age standard based on performance. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Degree of Parent-Therapist Contact | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | The number of times per week that the parent received education on physical therapy techniques as documented in clinical notes |
| Infant Neurobehavior | Assessed at 34 to 36 weeks postmenstrual age | Neurobehavior will be measured via the NeoNatal Neurobehavioral Scales-II, a valid and reliable neurobehavioral assessment for high-risk infants across 13 different scales, including habituation, attention, arousal, self-regulation, and more. Due to the varied performance across these scales and their different ranges, it can be challenging to determine an overall exam response for each infant. Therefore, grouping response patterns into discrete profiles through latent profile analysis offers a simpler way to compare NNNS performance among infants. |
| Change in Maternal Stress | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | Maternal Stress will be measured via the Parent Stress Scale: NICU, a 26-item tool to assess parent stress in NICU that covers topics such as: Infant Appearance, Parental Role Alteration, Sights \& Sounds. Scores range from 0 to 130 with higher scores indicating greater stress |
| Change in Parent Competence | From birth to hospital discharge, assessed up to 4 months of life | Parent Competence will be measured via the Parent Sense of Competence Scale,17-item scale to assess change in the parent's sense of competence in infant care. Scores range from 17 to 102 with higher scores indicating higher sense of competence |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDana McCarty, PT, DPT, PhD
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Outcome results
None listed