Assessing the Impact of a NICU Book Cart on Staff and Caregiver Speech to Very Preterm Infants

To examine differences in infant-directed talk activities (e.g., reading) before and after introduction of a NICU book cart.

We retrospectively analyzed medical record data of infants born <32 weeks gestational age (n = 147) whose NICU stay occurred in the year before or after book cart implementation (6/1/2022). Talk rates and frequencies were calculated from clinically charted family and staff talk data; talk amounts were compared across pre- and post-book cart cohorts, adjusting for covariates.

Cohorts displayed equivalent clinical/demographic variables, except for higher bronchopulmonary dysplasia rates in the post-book cart cohort. Post-book cart family and staff engaged in more talk than those in the pre-book cart cohort, with staff showing higher talk rates and frequencies than family across both cohorts.

Family and staff with access to a NICU book cart engaged in more talk, suggesting a strategy to support infant speech exposure.