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Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Programs: A Survey of Academic Programs
Sanjeet Panda1, Rashmi Somu1,2, Nathalie Maitre3
1Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso 4800 Alberta Avenue, El Paso, TX 79905, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted North American high-risk infant follow-up (HRIF) clinics, leading to closures and increased telemedicine use. Many programs require more government funding for essential infant developmental services.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Public health
- Pediatric follow-up
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted healthcare services globally.
- Academic high-risk infant follow-up (HRIF) clinics provide crucial developmental monitoring for vulnerable newborns.
- Disruptions to HRIF services may have long-term consequences for infant neurodevelopment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations and services of North American HRIF clinics.
- To identify challenges and innovative adaptations in HRIF care delivery during the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- A prospective survey was conducted using a 25-question REDCap questionnaire.
- The survey was distributed to 105 US and 10 Canadian HRIF programs over 10 weeks.
- Data from 59 US and 5 Canadian programs were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Significant clinic closures were reported: 67% in the US (1-5 months) and 80% in Canada (1-3 months).
- Telemedicine adoption was high (86% in the US), but multidisciplinary telemedicine services were less common (42.5% in the US).
- Innovative telemedicine approaches were noted, alongside a need for standardized services and increased government funding.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused substantial disruptions to HRIF clinic services across North America.
- Telemedicine emerged as a key adaptation, but challenges in standardization and multidisciplinary care persist.
- Urgent need for enhanced government funding is highlighted to support follow-up and developmental services for high-risk infants.
Objective:
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning and services of academic high-risk infant follow-up (HRIF) clinics throughout North America.
Study Design:
Prospective 25-question questionnaire survey through REDCAP links that was sent over 10 weeks, to 105 US and 10 Canadian programs. Finally, 59 of 105 US programs and 5 of 10 Canadian responses were analyzed using SAS version 9.4.
Results:
In the US, 67% of programs reported closures between 1-5 months, whereas in Canada 80% of programs closed for 1-3 months. In the US 86% of programs provided telemedicine visits and only 42.5% provided multidisciplinary HRIF telemedicine visits. We enumerated innovative approaches specifically for the conduct of Telemedicine visits, the need for the standardization of various tests and services in a telemedicine setting, and to emphasize the urgent need for more government funding to improve follow-up and developmental services to this fragile group of newborns.
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