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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Social and structural disparities in family presence and engagement in the NICU
Neha S Anand1,2,3, Nikita S Kalluri4, Erika G Cordova-Ramos5
1Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. neha.anand2@ucsf.edu.
Introduction:
We examined associations of maternal sociodemographic factors and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) with NICU family presence and engagement (breastfeeding, skin-to-skin care, and receipt of discharge teaching 48 h prior to discharge).
Methods:
Data was abstracted from medical records at six Massachusetts NICUs participating in a family engagement quality collaborative from 2021-2022. Sociodemographic factors included maternal race and ethnicity, language and insurance. SVI was determined from maternal zip code. We used mixed-effects logistic regression, accounting for clustering by hospital and multiple gestation and adjusting for covariates.
Results:
Among 450 mother-infant dyads, infants with non-Hispanic Black compared to non-Hispanic White mothers had lower odds of family presence. Public insurance and higher SVI were associated with lower odds of receiving mother's milk at discharge.
Conclusions:
Family characteristics linked to social disadvantage were associated with less NICU family presence and engagement, underscoring the need for interventions to improve equitable NICU family engagement.
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