Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Improving infant outcomes through implementation of a family integrated care bundle including a parent supporting
Jayanta Banerjee1,2, Annie Aloysius1, Karen Mitchell1
1Department of Neonatology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
Insights
The Integrated Family Delivered Care (IFDC) programme improved infant health outcomes. This family integrated care approach significantly reduced length of stay and enabled earlier feeding in neonatal units.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric health outcomes
- Family-centered care
Background:
- Improving infant health outcomes and parent experience is crucial in neonatal care.
- The Integrated Family Delivered Care (IFDC) programme was developed to enhance these aspects through education and training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the IFDC programme in improving infant health outcomes.
- To assess the impact of the IFDC programme on parent experience and staff competency.
Main Methods:
- The IFDC programme included a co-designed care bundle with a mobile application and staff training.
- Infant outcomes were compared using a pre-post intervention analysis with retrospective controls.
- The primary outcome measure was the length of stay (LOS).
Main Results:
- Infants in the IFDC group had a significantly shorter median length of stay (LOS) (41 vs 55 days; p=0.022).
- This reduction in LOS was also observed in the subgroup of infants under 30 weeks gestational age (GA).
- The IFDC group showed significantly fewer special care days and earlier achievement of full suck feeding.
Conclusions:
- The IFDC programme demonstrated significant benefits in a UK tertiary neonatal unit.
- This family integrated care approach successfully reduced LOS and accelerated feeding milestones.
- The findings support the implementation of family integrated care models in neonatal settings.
Objective:
The aim of the Integrated Family Delivered Care (IFDC) programme was to improve infant health outcomes and parent experience through education and competency-based training.
Design:
In collaboration with veteran parents' focus groups, we created an experienced co-designed care bundle including IFDC mobile application, which together with staff training programme comprised the IFDC programme. Infant outcomes were compared with retrospective controls in a prepost intervention analysis.
Main Outcome Measures:
The primary outcome measure was the length of stay (LOS).
Results:
Between April 2017 and May 2018, 89 families were recruited; 37 infants completed their entire care episode in our units with a minimum LOS >14 days. From a gestational age (GA) and birth weight-matched retrospective cohort, 57 control infants were selected. Data were also analysed for subgroup under 30 weeks GA (n=20).Infants in the IFDC group were discharged earlier: median corrected GA (36+0 (IQR 35+0-38+0) vs 37+1 (IQR 36+3-38+4) weeks; p=0.003), with shorter median LOS (41 (32-63) vs 55 (41-73) days; p=0.022). This was also evident in the subgroup <30 weeks GA (61 (39-82) vs 76 (68-84) days; p=0.035). Special care days were significantly lower in the IFDC group (30 (21-41) vs 40 (31-46); p=0.006). The subgroup of infants (<30 weeks) reached full suck feeding earlier (median: 47 (37-76) vs 72 (66-82) days; p=0.006).
Conclusion:
This is the first reported study from a UK tertiary neonatal unit demonstrating significant benefits of family integrated care programme. The IFDC programme has significantly reduced LOS, resulted in the earlier achievement of full enteral and suck feeds.
Related Concept Videos
00:55Parental Care
02:47Protein Families
02:47Protein Families
01:57Gene Families
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
01:57Gene Families
01:30Application of Integration: Problem Solving