Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

Spring 4-13-2025

Faculty Mentor

Cristina Reyes Smith

Abstract

The purpose of this capstone project was to develop and provide an informational and evidence-based resource for parents to utilize after discharge from the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital (SJCH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). An in-depth needs assessment showed a need for increased parental support and better resources to improve parent mental health outcomes due to feelings of unpreparedness following a NICU stay. To support this goal, and in collaboration with the occupational therapy team at SJCH, two informational websites were created, one in English and the other in Spanish. The website is entitled “The Neonatal Care Project” and contains detailed information on the following 11 topics: developmental milestones, feeding, tummy time, sleep, hydrotherapy, infant massage, sensory development, BabyNet and early intervention, getting connected and other resources, other professionals, and the Proyecto Neonatal App. In addition to the information provided on the website, each page contains links to other helpful and reliable resources. Parents (n=22) verbally reported the material is valuable and they will utilize the resource once discharged from the NICU. Four themes were derived from parents feedback, (1) appreciation for the knowledge and support to continue care at home, (2) confidence in connecting with BabyNet services, (3) valuing feeding support and bottle guidance, (4) excitement around infant massage at home. Additionally, the occupational therapy team at SJCH (n=8) provided feedback via a Redcap survey and reported that they are very likely to provide their patients with this resource and feel very confident in answering any questions that families have regarding the website. Future research should focus on the effects of providing informational discharge resources and improved continuum of care on the direct mental health outcomes of parents with NICU infants.

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