Vida Completes Research Grant on Preterm Infants

Vida has completed research to evaluate the effectiveness of two educational interventions for healthcare providers working in neonatal intensive care units and their patients. The project, titled Supporting the Development of Preterm Newborns (#5 R44 HD042313-03), was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and ran from August 2002 through February 2008.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Vida Health Communications, Inc. (Vida) produced two DVD programs that provide information about preterm infant brain development and its implications for newborn care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU):

• No Matter How Small: A Parents’ Guide To Preterm Infant Behavior and Development - for parents
• Focus on the Brain Part 1: The Science of Preterm Infant Development - for clinical staff
  

The impact of these programs on the users was evaluated in a rigorous clinical trial. The evaluation examined three research questions:

• Whether the DVD for parents would significantly increase knowledge and confidence and reduce stress levels of parents of newborns in the NICU when compared to parents receiving the usual education and support,
• Whether the DVD for NICU staff would significantly increase nurses’ knowledge of, and positively influence their attitudes about, preterm infant brain development, and,
• Whether the programs would positively influence the environment of care in the NICU such that there is an overall trend toward developmentally supportive care.

Key Findings

NICU parents who viewed No Matter How Small; A Parents’ Guide To Preterm Infant Behavior And Development:

• Gained in their knowledge of fetal and neonatal development,
• Exhibited reduced levels of parental stress, and
• Displayed increased parental confidence in applying developmentally supportive care concepts,

when compared to parents who did not view the DVD program. The increase in parents’ confidence in applying developmentally supportive care concepts persisted after three months.

NICU staff who viewed Focus on the Brain Part 1: The Science of Preterm Infant Development:

• Gained in knowledge

Across five combined domains regarding developmentally supportive care.

Specifically about developmentally supportive care strategies and
techniques, and

Specifically about the importance of developmentally supportive routine
care and medical procedures.

• Exhibited an improved attitude towards developmentally supportive care

when compared to staff who did not view the DVD program. All of these changes persisted over three months, while combined knowledge actually grew during this time period.

The DVD programs appear to have had a significant influence on the environment of care, as the two single-intervention sites displayed positive gains across most or all studied domains.

A two page summary of the key findings can be found at www.vida-health.com/pdf/nicu_eval_summary.pdf