TY - JOUR AU - Piris-Borregas, Salvador AU - Bellón-Vaquerizo, Beatriz AU - Velasco-Echeburúa, Leticia AU - Niño-Díaz, Lidia AU - Sánchez-Aparicio, Susana AU - López-Maestro, María AU - Pallás-Alonso, Carmen Rosa PY - 2024 DA - 2024/8/30 TI - Parental Autonomy in the Care of Premature Newborns and the Experience of a Neonatal Team: Observational Prospective Study JO - JMIR Pediatr Parent SP - e55411 VL - 7 KW - family-centered care KW - neonatal intensive care unit KW - kangaroo mother care KW - mother KW - mothers KW - parent KW - parents KW - parental KW - ICU KW - intensive care KW - training KW - education KW - educational KW - premature KW - pediatric KW - pediatrics KW - paediatric KW - paediatrics KW - infant KW - infants KW - infancy KW - baby KW - babies KW - neonate KW - neonates KW - neonatal KW - newborn KW - newborns KW - intensive care unit AB - Background: The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) has promoted the importance of parental involvement in the care of children. Objective: The study aimed to examine how the time required by parents to achieve autonomy in the care of their very low–birth weight newborn infants was modified during the implementation of a training program. Methods: This was an observational prospective study in the context of a quality improvement initiative. The Cuídame (meaning “Take Care of Me” in English) program was aimed at achieving parental autonomy. It was implemented over 2 periods: period 1, from September 1, 2020, to June 15, 2021; and period 2, from July 15, 2021, to May 31, 2022. The days required by parents to achieve autonomy in several areas of care were collected from the electronic health system. Results: A total of 54 and 43 families with newborn infants were recruited in periods 1 and 2, respectively. Less time was required to acheive autonomy in period 2 for participation in clinical rounds (median 10.5, IQR 5‐20 vs 7, IQR 4‐10.5 d; P<.001), feeding (median 53.5, IQR 34‐68 vs 44.5, IQR 37‐62 d; P=.049), and observation of neurobehavior (median 18, IQR 9‐33 vs 11, IQR 7‐16 d; P=.049). More time was required to achieve autonomy for kangaroo mother care (median 14, IQR 7‐23 vs 21, IQR 10‐31 d; P=.02), diaper change (median 9.5, IQR 4‐20 vs 14.5, IQR 9‐32 d; P=.04), and infection prevention (median 1, IQR 1‐2 vs 6, IQR 3‐12; P<.001). Conclusions: Parents required less time to achieve autonomy for participation in clinical rounds, feeding, and observation of neurobehavior during the implementation of the training program. Nevertheless, they required more time to achieve autonomy for kangaroo mother care, diaper change, and infection prevention. SN - 2561-6722 UR - https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2024/1/e55411 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/55411 DO - 10.2196/55411 ID - info:doi/10.2196/55411 ER -