Supporting the Development of Preterm Newborns

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In Supporting the Development of Preterm Newborns Vida Health Communications, Inc. will produce and evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated set of modular DVD programs for parents of premature infants and professionals working in neonatal intensive care settings. Program developers will use state-of-the-art, miniature camera equipment and emerging brain imaging technologies to teach about: the fetal and neonatal brain; the neurobehavioral competencies of preterm infants; and specific care strategies to support the development of premature infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Over 400,000 infants are born prematurely in the U.S. each year. Over 50% are diagnosed with emotional, behavioral or learning disorders by the time they reach school age. There is no media training currently available to teach families and neonatal staff about individualized, developmental care in the NICU and the ways it is known to improve neurological outcomes of preterm infants. This information is expected to shape care delivery in the NICU and to help parents understand their infants' competencies and vulnerabilities. Phase I involved proof of concept and technique research to demonstrate feasibility. Phase II plans entail production of the fully functional program components of Supporting the Development of Preterm Newborns as well as usability and acceptance field tests to evaluate the media package's efficacy and audience satisfaction levels. Distribution outlets, in addition to Vida's own, are already in place. They include Children's Medical Ventures, Inc. (ad division of Respironics, Inc.) and CST, Inc., developers of "Baby Care Link," a Web-based education software application sold to NICUs and healthcare systems.