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Key Components of Parenting Education Interventions for Preterm Infant-Parent Dyads Admitted to the NICU: A
Welma Lubbe1,2, Iolanthé Marike Kruger3, Kirsten A Donald1
1Division of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
Insights
Educational interventions for parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) vary widely. Improving their design and support integration is crucial for parental readiness and infant care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Parental education
- Health systems research
Background:
- Parents of preterm infants experience significant challenges during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization.
- Educational interventions aim to support parental readiness but show considerable variation in content, structure, and delivery.
- Understanding these components is vital for developing effective, contextually responsive programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and synthesize core educational components within NICU interventions for parents of preterm infants.
- To analyze program structures and delivery methods used in these interventions.
- To determine embedded parental support needs within NICU educational interventions.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of peer-reviewed studies from January 2010 to September 2022.
- Inclusion of 33 high-quality methodological studies.
- Thematic analysis for data extraction and synthesis.
Main Results:
- Three domains identified: educational content, program structure/delivery, and integrated parental support.
- Educational content covers NICU environment, infant care, parental well-being, and discharge.
- Significant variation in program structure and inconsistent embedding of parental support were noted; established interventions show stronger foundations.
Conclusions:
- NICU educational interventions improve parental knowledge and confidence but lack standardization and scalability due to variation.
- The current evidence base, dominated by high-income settings, limits global applicability.
- Future research should focus on theory-informed design, transparent reporting, and context-sensitive adaptation for equitable parental education worldwide.
Background:
Parents of preterm infants face significant emotional, informational, and caregiving challenges during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalisation. Educational interventions are increasingly used to support parental readiness; however, considerable variation exists in their content, structure, and delivery. A clearer understanding of these components is essential to inform the development of effective, contextually responsive programmes.
Aim:
To identify and synthesise the core educational components, programme structures, and embedded parental support needs within NICU-based educational interventions for parents of preterm infants.
Methods:
A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature (January 2010-September 2022) identified 33 studies of high methodological quality. Data were extracted and synthesised using thematic analysis.
Results:
Three overarching domains were identified: (1) educational content, (2) programme structure and delivery, and (3) parental support needs integrated within educational delivery. The educational content encompassed the NICU environment, infant health and behaviour, caregiving practices, parental well-being, and discharge preparation. Programme structures varied widely in terms of intensity, duration, delivery modality, and facilitator roles, with limited justification for structural choices. Parental support-emotional, relational, and confidence-building-was inconsistently embedded despite evidence of its importance. Established interventions such as COPE, FICare, and FCC have clearer theoretical foundations and more holistic support than most locally developed programmes.
Conclusions:
NICU educational interventions positively influence parental knowledge, confidence, and parent-infant interaction; however, substantial variation and limited conceptual grounding hinder their comparability and scalability. The evidence base remains dominated by high-income settings, which limits its global applicability. Future research must prioritise theory-informed design, transparent reporting, and context-sensitive adaptation, particularly in under-resourced health systems, to support equitable and effective parental education for families of preterm infants worldwide.
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