Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Programs: A Survey of Academic Programs

Panda, Sanjeet; Somu, Rashmi; Maitre, Nathalie L.; Levin, Garrett; Singh, Ajay

doi:10.3390/children8100889

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…While most follow-up care is provided in the clinic setting, a novel transition to home programs has successfully integrated home visits after NICU discharge [25,26]. Many programs began using telehealth platforms for follow-up care during the COVID-19 pandemic [27,28]. A recent systematic review found that care coordination for infants with complex care needs reduces costs for families and health systems and leads to improved care quality [29].…”

Section: Overview Of Clinical High-risk Infant Follow-up Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants after NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up

Litt,

Halfon,

Msall

et al. 2024

Children

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Children born prematurely (<37 weeks’ gestation) have an increased risk for chronic health problems and developmental challenges compared to their term-born peers. The threats to health and development posed by prematurity, the unintended effects of life-sustaining neonatal intensive care, the associated neonatal morbidities, and the profound stressors to families affect well-being during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and beyond. Specialized clinical programs provide medical and developmental follow-up care for preterm infants after hospital discharge. High-risk infant follow-up, like most post-discharge health services, has many shortcomings, including unclear goals, inadequate support for infants, parents, and families, fragmented service provisions, poor coordination among providers, and an artificially foreshortened time horizon. There are well-documented inequities in care access and delivery. We propose applying a life course health development framework to clinical follow-up for children born prematurely that is contextually appropriate, developmentally responsive, and equitably deployed. The concepts of health development, unfolding, complexity, timing, plasticity, thriving, and harmony can be mapped to key components of follow-up care delivery to address pressing health challenges. This new approach envisions a more effective version of clinical follow-up to support the best possible functional outcomes and the opportunity for every premature infant to thrive within their family and community environments over their life course.

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Section: Overview Of Clinical High-risk Infant Follow-up Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants after NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up

Litt,

Halfon,

Msall

et al. 2024

Children

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“…Access to health and support services, including early intervention, has grown more limited for at-risk children who are socioeconomically, culturally, and geographically disadvantaged and have developmental issues [12,13]. High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) programs highlight the importance of monitoring the effectiveness of clinical services, which have been interrupted during the pandemic, on neonatal outcomes [14]. Pediatric emergency applications decreased by about half during the pandemic, whereas child mental health applications increased [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatric Referral Trends from a non-Western Country during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Omercioglu

Yeşil

Avcı

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objectives The global spread of COVID-19 and associated policies have caused negative factors at the level of children, families, and services, resulting in physical, mental, and developmental issues in children, as well as limited access to healthcare. We evaluated the referral numbers, sources, and trends of a developmental-behavioral pediatrics (DBP) department in Turkey as a Eurasian country, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral variables. Methods This longitudinal observational research examined patient referral data to Hacettepe University Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Department (HUDPD) between 2014 and 2021. We analyzed the changes in the number of referrals over time in 3-month intervals using negative binomial regression models (NBR). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral reasons was evaluated. Results The overall number of referrals increased by 1.040-fold [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.015–1.067] per year. There was a 1.070 (95% CI: 1.033–1.110)-fold increase per year before the pandemic, and a 1.077 (95% CI: 0.933–1.24)-fold increase afterward. Referrals for perinatal-neonatal risks were 1.359 (95% CI: 1.269–1.456) times higher than in the pre-pandemic period, and those for suspected autism were 1.209 (95% CI: 0.987–1.478) times higher. Conclusion Although it is encouraging that our referral trends have improved in the 1.5 years since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is thought that health service constraints caused a considerable increase in prenatal risk and suspicion of autism referrals following the pandemic. Improvement and innovation in healthcare systems to prevent the long-term detrimental impacts of periodic interruptions in healthcare on children's development and behavior is needed.

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Has the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted children’s development? An assessment of the neurodevelopment of premature babies born during the pandemic

Ömercioğlu,

Mert Karakaya,

Özdemir

et al. 2024

Turk J Pediatr

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Background. Pandemics, such as COVID-19, have the potential to adversely affect children’s development due to a variety of negative factors at the level of children, families, and services. In this study the effect of the pandemic on the cognitive, language and motor development of premature babies who are among the most vulnerable group, were evaluated. Methods. The study included 236 premature infants who were followed at Hacettepe University Department of Developmental Pediatrics. The Bayley-Third Edition Developmental Assessment (Bayley III) was used to evaluate the neurodevelopment of 152 premature infants from the pre-pandemic group and 84 from the post-pandemic group at the corrected age of 18–24 months. The perinatal and sociodemographic risks were also evaluated. Results. No difference in Bayley III scores (cognitive, language, and motor) was found between the pre- and post-pandemic groups. Furthermore, the multivariate covariance analysis displayed that regardless of the pandemic, infants with higher maternal education consistently scored higher in the cognitive, language, and motor domains; and the motor area scores of infants with moderate perinatal risk were also significantly higher than infants with high perinatal risk. Conclusions. It is crucial to monitor the development of vulnerable children who encounter developmental risks, such as premature babies. Fortunately, no significant effect was encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this does not underweigh the need for close supervision in extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, it should be noted that severe postnatal comorbidities, perinatal risks, and social factors, such as maternal education level, interact to influence the neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants.

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Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Programs: A Survey of Academic Programs

Cited by 3 publications

References 13 publications

Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants after NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up

Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants after NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up

Changes in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatric Referral Trends from a non-Western Country during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Has the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted children’s development? An assessment of the neurodevelopment of premature babies born during the pandemic

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