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Updated: Jan 17, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Perception of neonatal outcomes: lessons learned from positive health
Mary Lauren Neel1, Kristen L Benninger2
1Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Insights
Traditional neurodevelopmental outcome measures for preterm children overlook parent priorities. This study explores positive health, focusing on well-being and participation, as a more family-centered approach for assessing children at high risk of disability.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Child Psychology
- Family-Centered Care
Background:
- Current neurodevelopmental outcome assessments for preterm children are primarily deficit-focused.
- These traditional measures often neglect crucial parent and family perspectives on child functioning and participation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the concept and measurement of positive health as a neurodevelopmental outcome for preterm children.
- To propose a more holistic and family-informed approach beyond traditional disability classifications.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual exploration of positive health in the context of high-risk pediatric populations.
- Review of existing literature on parent perspectives in child development outcomes.
Main Results:
- Positive health offers a broader perspective, encompassing well-being, life satisfaction, and goal attainment.
- This approach aligns better with parental priorities regarding their child's functional abilities and social participation.
Conclusions:
- Measuring positive health is a feasible and valuable approach for assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm children.
- Adopting positive health metrics can better meet the needs of families and align research with lived experiences.
Abstract:
Traditional measures of neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm children are deficit focused and not informed by parent and family perspectives. Parents care less about medical classification of severity of disability and more about the child's ability to function and participate. Positive health encompasses a broad and dynamic perspective on health that goes beyond the absence of disease and focuses on physical, mental, and social well-being, life-satisfaction, and goal attainment. Measuring positive health as an outcome in children at high risk of disability is challenging but possible. Further exploration of positive health as an outcome may meet the needs of both families and researchers.
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