An educational-behavioural intervention for parents of preterm infants reduced parental stress in the NICU and infant length of stay
Q Does an educational-behavioural intervention for parents of premature infants improve parent-infant interactions and parental mental health and reduce infant length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)?
METHODS
Design:
randomised controlled trial (Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment [COPE] NICU programme).
Allocation:
unclear.
Blinding:
blinded (primary care nurses and outcome assessors of parent-infant interactions).
Follow up period:
2 months corrected infant age.
Setting:
2 NICUs in Syracuse and Rochester, New York, USA.
Participants:
258 mothers (mean age 28 y) and 154 fathers/significant others (mean age 31 y) ⩾18 years of age (260 families) who could read and speak English, had not had another infant admitted to the NICU, and who had singleton infants (52% girls) born at the study sites with a gestational age of 26–34 weeks (mean 31 wks), birth weight <2500 g (mean 1650 g) and appropriate for gestational age, no severe disabling condition, and who were expected to survive.
Intervention:
147 families were allocated to the COPE programme, which comprised audiotaped and written information on infant behaviour and parental roles and suggested …
