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Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Effect of single family rooms for preterm infants on neurodevelopment: study protocol for a systematic review
Nicole R van Veenendaal1,2, Sophie R D van der Schoor1, Jacqueline Limpens3
1Department of Pediatrics/Neonatology, OLVG location East, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Single family rooms in neonatal wards may improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants. This systematic review will assess their impact on infant development and parental well-being.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care and developmental pediatrics
- Hospital architecture and patient outcomes
- Evidence-based practice in neonatology
Background:
- Preterm infants face significant neurodevelopmental risks due to hospital stressors like separation and noise.
- Neonatal wards are transitioning from open bay units to single family rooms.
- The impact of the hospital environment on preterm infant neurodevelopment is under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the primary effect of single family rooms on preterm infant neurodevelopment.
- To assess secondary outcomes including neonatal health (e.g., breastfeeding, sepsis, growth, length of stay) and parental well-being (e.g., stress, satisfaction, self-efficacy).
Main Methods:
- Systematic review protocol guided by PRISMA-P 2015 checklist.
- PICO: Preterm infants (Population) in single family rooms (Intervention) vs. open bay units (Comparison) assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes from 9 months (Outcome).
- Meta-analysis planned if at least two low/moderate risk of bias studies are identified; otherwise, descriptive data synthesis.
Main Results:
- This section is to be populated upon completion of the systematic review and data analysis.
- The review aims to synthesize findings on neurodevelopmental outcomes and secondary neonatal and parental measures.
- Results will inform clinical practice and architectural design in neonatal care.
Conclusions:
- This systematic review will be the first to comprehensively assess the impact of single family rooms on preterm infant neurodevelopment.
- Findings may guide the optimization of clinical practices to enhance neurodevelopment in this vulnerable population.
- The study will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Introduction:
Preterm infants are at an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delay. They have to endure many stressors in early life, including parent-infant separation, noise and painful procedures during hospitalisation in the highly technological environment of the modern neonatal ward. Currently, a shift is being noticed in the architectural design of neonatal wards towards single family rooms instead of the common open bay units. The influence of the hospital environment on health and specifically neurodevelopment in this vulnerable patient population remains under discussion.
Objectives:
To assess the effect of single family rooms during hospitalisation primarily on neurodevelopment in preterm infants. Secondary outcome measures will be neonatal (ie, breastfeeding rates, sepsis, growth during hospital stay, length of hospital stay) and parental (ie, parental stress, satisfaction, participation, presence and self-efficacy).
Methods And Analysis:
The PRISMA-P 2015 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols 2015) 17 items checklist was used for the generation of the protocol for this review. The following PICO was formulated: Population: preterm infants with need of hospitalisation in the neonatal ward; Intervention: single family rooms; Comparison: standard neonatal care in open bay units; Outcome: neurodevelopmental outcome of infants from 9 months onwards. If at least two studies, with low or moderate risk of bias, suitable for inclusion are found a meta-analysis will be performed. If quantitative synthesis is not appropriate the data will be presented descriptively.
Dissemination Plans:
This will be the first review, systematically assessing the effect of single family rooms on neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants. Clinical practice could possibly be optimised to ameliorate neurodevelopment in this vulnerable patient population based on these insights. This systematic review will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Registration:
We registered this systematic review protocol with the PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) on 2 November 2016 (registration number: CRD42016050643).
Ethics:
We will use data from patients enrolled in studies and/or trials already approved by the relevant ethical committees and therefore this systematic review requires no further permissions.
