The Effects of Developmental Care on Short-Term Outcomes of Preterm Infants: A Quasi-Experimental Study
نویسندگان
1 Professor, Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
3 Instructor, Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
4 Associate Professor, Pediatric Health Research Center of Tabriz, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
5 Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
6 Assistant Professor, Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran
doi
10.5812/ircmj.13799چکیده
Background: Technological advances in neonatal care have increased the survival rate of preterm infants, but they have not been able to reduce the risk of the multiple complications developing in them.Objectives: To determine the short-term effects of developmental care on preterm infants.Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted on 105 preterm infants (three groups of 35) born in Al-Zahra hospital of Tabriz, Iran, from September 2013 to November 2015. The sampling method was convenience, based on study’s eligibility criteria. The control group received no developmental care. Intervention group 1 received developmental care at the neonatal intensive care unit and the neonatal ward, and intervention group 2 received developmental care from birth in the delivery and operating rooms and continued to receive it at the NICU and the neonatal ward. Short-term neonatal outcomes were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The overall duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter in intervention group 2 compared to the control group (mean difference: - 13.6; confidence interval: -24.8 to -2.4; P = 0.013) and intervention group 1 (-12.5; -23.7 to-1.3; P = 0.024), and the duration of NICU stay was also shorter in intervention group 2 compared to the control group (-12.4; -22.2 to -2.5; P = 0.009). The incidence of sepsis was significantly lower in intervention groups 1 and 2 compared to the control group, and the incidence of prematurity anemia and the need for blood transfusion were also significantly lower in intervention group 2 compared to intervention group 1 and the control group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of neonatal growth parameters at full term corrected age.Conclusions: The results obtained showed that developmental care for preterm infants, especially when initiated as early as in the delivery and operating room, can improve certain short-term neonatal outcomes.
