PREHOMECARE EFFECT OF PREHOMECARE WITH PRETERM INFANTS USING VIDEOCONFERENCING AND SMARTPHONE APPLICATION

Introduction: Premature infants and their parents are discharged earlier from hospital and sent home in early in-homecare programs. Further research is needed to determine whether the use of telehealth can address the parents’ need for support in relation to early discharge. The aim is to test if PreHomeCare with videoconferencing and Smartphone application versus hospital consultations can increase exclusive breastfeeding, improve parent infant interaction and enhance parental confidence and knowledge. Method: The project will be conducted as a randomised controlled intervention study in 3 neonatal wards in Denmark. Parents of premature infants will be randomized to either intervention (n=80) or control group (n=80) via simple randomization. Families can start PreHomeCare when the inclusion citeria are approved: gestational age of > 34, no need for monitoring, tube feeding and started breastfeeding/bottle feeding and the families have given written consent. The intervention group will receive a Smartphone application and video system and a babyweight to use under PreHomeCare. The control group includes hospital consultations on the hospital. Both groups will have planned consultations 2-3 times/week. Data collection will be at inclusion, end of PreHomeCare and one month after discharge. Primary outcome is proportion of exclusive breastfeeding one month after discharge, secondary outcome are parent/infant interaction (MABISC) and families' feeling of confidence in caring for their infant (KPCS). Results/perspectives: Data collection started in the autumn of 2015. It is expected that this project will support development of care for premature infants and telemedicine use in the future.