Guidelines for the Institutional Implementation of Developmental Neuroprotective Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Part A

Abstract

The use of age-appropriate care as an organized framework for care delivery in the neonatal intensive care unit is founded on the work of Heidelise Als, PhD, and her synactive theory of development. This theoretical construct has recently been advanced by the work of Gibbins and colleagues with the ''universe of developmental care'' conceptual model and developmental care core measures which were endorsed by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses in their age-appropriate care of premature infant guidelines as best-practice standards for the provision of high-quality care in the neonatal intensive care unit. These guidelines were recently revised and expanded. In alignment with the Joint Commission's requirement for health-care professionals to provide age-specific care across the lifespan, the core measures for developmental care suggest the necessary competencies for those caring for the premature and critically ill hospitalized infant. Further supported by the Primer Standards of Accreditation and Health Canada, the institutional implementation of theses core measures requires a strong framework for institutional operationalization, presented in these guidelines. Part A of this article will present the background and rationale behind the present guidelines and their condensed table of recommendations.

The evolution of family‐centered care: From supporting parent‐delivered interventions to a model of family integrated care

“…Measures for each of these domains have been proposed (Coughlin, Gibbins, & Hoath, 2009). To address issues with inconsistency in the implementation of NIDC and the lack of institutional operational framework, a joint statement from the National Association of Neonatal Nurses of the United States and the Canadian Association of Neonatal Nurses proposed guidelines in 2018 (Milette, Martel, Ribeiro da Silva, & Coughlin McNeil, 2017). The NIDC approach to care has not yet been evaluated in comparative studies with other models of care in respect to infant or parent outcomes.…”

Neonatal intensive care unit nurses' perceptions and knowledge of newborn individualized developmental care and assessment program: A multicenter study

“…Due to the staff-oriented nature of the program,[5] the nurse is the executor having a major key role in the success of developmental care,[6] which, in turn, necessitates improving the NICU nurses' awareness and knowledge in order for them to exhibit better performance in nursing the developmental care of infants. [37]…”

Scaling Up the Family Integrated Care Model in a Level IIIC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Approach to the Methods and Effort Taken for Implementation

“…The second step was the dissemination of the FICare program and training on FICare standards among the NICU clinical staff. The FICare-IT at this stage acted as primary trainers and mentors to ensure that the provision of nurse education covered 90% of active nursing staff in the NICU, as recommended ( 32 ). Groups of 10–15 nurses and nurse assistants were created and assigned to a member of the FICare-IT for FICare staff training ( Figure 2 ).…”