Brett, Jo, Staniszewska, Sophie, Newburn, Mary, Jones, Nicola and Taylor, Lesley (2011) A systematic mapping review of effective interventions for communicating with, supporting and providing information to parents of preterm infants. BMJ Open, Vol.1 (No.1). e000023. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2010-000023 ISSN 2044-6055.

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Abstract

Background and objective: The birth of a preterm
infant can be an overwhelming experience of guilt, fear
and helplessness for parents. Provision of
interventions to support and engage parents in the
care of their infant may improve outcomes for both the
parents and the infant. The objective of this systematic
review is to identify and map out effective interventions
for communication with, supporting and providing
information for parents of preterm infants.
Design: Systematic searches were conducted in the
electronic databases Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, the
Cochrane library, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and
Allied Health Literature, Midwives Information and
Resource Service, Health Management Information
Consortium, and Health Management and Information
Service. Hand-searching of reference lists and journals
was conducted. Studies were included if they provided
parent-reported outcomes of interventions relating to
information, communication and/or support for
parents of preterm infants prior to the birth, during
care at the neonatal intensive care unit and after going
home with their preterm infant. Titles and abstracts
were read for relevance, and papers judged to meet
inclusion criteria were included. Papers were dataextracted,
their quality was assessed, and a narrative
summary was conducted in line with the York Centre
for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines.
Studies reviewed: Of the 72 papers identified, 19
papers were randomised controlled trials, 16 were
cohort or quasi-experimental studies, and 37 were
non-intervention studies.
Results: Interventions for supporting, communicating
with, and providing information to parents that have
had a premature infant are reported. Parents report
feeling supported through individualised
developmental and behavioural care programmes,
through being taught behavioural assessment scales,
and through breastfeeding, kangaroo-care and babymassage
programmes. Parents also felt supported
through organised support groups and through
provision of an environment where parents can meet
and support each other. Parental stress may be
reduced through individual developmental care
programmes, psychotherapy, interventions that teach emotional coping skills and active problem-solving,
and journal writing. Evidence reports the importance of
preparing parents for the neonatal unit through the
neonatal tour, and the importance of good
communication throughout the infant admission phase
and after discharge home. Providing individual
web-based information about the infant, recording
doctorepatient consultations and provision of an
information binder may also improve communication
with parents. The importance of thorough discharge
planning throughout the infant’s admission phase and
the importance of home-support programmes are also
reported.
Conclusion: The paper reports evidence of
interventions that help support, communicate with and
inform parents who have had a premature infant
throughout the admission phase of the infant,
discharge and return home. The level of evidence
reported is mixed, and this should be taken into
account when developing policy. A summary of
interventions from the available evidence is reported.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Health and Social Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Premature infants, Child rearing, Communication in medicine
Journal or Publication Title:	BMJ Open
Publisher:	BMJ
ISSN:	2044-6055
Official Date:	2 June 2011
Dates:	Date Event 2 June 2011 Published
Volume:	Vol.1
Number:	No.1
Page Range:	e000023
DOI:	10.1136/bmjopen-2010-000023
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit:	1 August 2016
Date of first compliant Open Access:	1 August 2016
Funder:	Big Lottery Fund (Great Britain) (BLF), University of Warwick. Royal College of Nursing Research Institute, National Childbirth Trust (Great Britain) (NCT), University of Oxford. National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU), BLISS (Organisation)
Grant number:	RG/1/01014958 (BLF)

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