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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Impact of community neonatal services: a multicentre survey

D Langley1, S Hollis, T Friede

  • 1Health R & D NoW, Institute for Health Research, Bowland Tower East, Lancaster University, UK. d.langley@lancaster.ac.uk

Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|October 23, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Community neonatal services may reduce infant hospital length of stay without increasing readmissions. This study explored the impact of these services on high-risk infant survivors during their first year.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Public health
  • Pediatric outcomes

Background:

  • High-risk infants require specialized care post-discharge.
  • Community neonatal services aim to bridge the gap between hospital and home care.
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of these services is crucial for optimizing infant outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the impact of community neonatal services on high-risk infant survivors.
  • To determine the effect on length of hospital stay and readmission rates within the first year of life.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective multicentre survey of 3367 eligible infants across 32 neonatal units in England and Wales.
  • Data collected via postal questionnaires sent to parents of infants with birth weight ≤1500g or requiring level I intensive care for ≥48 hours.
  • Main outcome measures included length of neonatal unit stay and hospital readmission rates in the first year.

Main Results:

  • Median length of stay was reduced by 12.6% in units with community neonatal services (adjusted analysis).
  • No significant difference in readmission rates was observed between units with and without community neonatal services (44.6% vs 43.5%).

Conclusions:

  • Community neonatal services may be associated with a reduced length of stay for high-risk infants.
  • The study suggests these services do not lead to an increased risk of hospital readmission.
  • Further research is needed to definitively attribute causality due to the retrospective study design.
Abstract

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