Improving neonatal follow-up for preterm infants and their families
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving neonatal follow-up for preterm infants and their families
IRAS ID
279014
Contact name
Claire Marcroft
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 2 months, 28 days
Research summary
Babies who are born very prematurely (more than 10 weeks early) are at increased risk of long-term developmental difficulties, which may affect their ability to see, move and learn. The potential risk of their baby having developmental difficulties can be extremely worrying for parents and families. Primary care givers are crucial to improving health and developmental outcomes for infants who have early life challenges, and high levels of family engagement are necessary with both universal and specialist health services.
Active monitoring of the developmental progress of preterm infants is an essential part of neonatal care and recommended in clinical guidelines. Accurate prognostic information is valuable to enable infants and their family’s access to support and early intervention. Infant outcome information is also important for clinicians, to better understand the effects of preterm birth on long-term health. Despite this, the experience and priorities of parents and clinicians regarding neonatal follow-up care are not well explored. We do not know whether current services adequately address parents’ most important concerns and it is unclear whether the assessments and subsequent results are important to families or identify outcomes that matter most to them.
This study will aim to:
1. understand and evaluate how parents of preterm infants experience neonatal developmental screening, support and follow-up.
2. examine critically ‘what’ and ‘how’ information is shared with parents/families about their baby’s developmental abilities, progress and prognosis and
3. identify healthcare professional and parent/carer priorities to identify areas for improvement.Qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews (formal, private, audio-recorded conversations) will be used to examine a broad range of experiences and views of neonatal follow-up care in three NHS neonatal services in the North of England.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
22/WA/0093
Date of REC Opinion
25 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion