An educational-behavioural intervention for parents of preterm infants reduced parental stress in the NICU and infant length of stay

Melnyk BM, Feinstein NF, Alpert-Gillis L, et al . Reducing premature infants’ length of stay and improving parents’ mental health outcomes with the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) neonatal intensive care unit program: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 2006;118:e1414–27.[OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] Q Does an educational-behavioural intervention for parents of premature infants improve parent-infant interactions and parental mental health and reduce infant length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)? ### ![Graphic][3] Design: randomised controlled trial (Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment [COPE] NICU programme). ### ![Graphic][4] Allocation: unclear. ### ![Graphic][5] Blinding: blinded (primary care nurses and outcome assessors of parent-infant interactions). ### ![Graphic][6] Follow up period: 2 months corrected infant age. ### ![Graphic][7] Setting: 2 NICUs in Syracuse and Rochester, New York, USA. ### ![Graphic][8] Participants: 258 mothers (mean age 28 y) and 154 fathers/significant others (mean age 31 y) ⩾18 years of age (260 families) who could read and speak English, had not had another infant admitted to the NICU, and who had singleton infants (52% girls) born at the study sites with a gestational age of 26–34 weeks (mean 31 wks), birth weight <2500 g (mean 1650 g) and appropriate for … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPediatrics%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1542%252Fpeds.2005-2580%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F17043133%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=pediatrics&resid=118/5/e1414&atom=%2Febnurs%2F10%2F2%2F41.atom [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [4]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [5]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif [6]: /embed/inline-graphic-4.gif [7]: /embed/inline-graphic-5.gif [8]: /embed/inline-graphic-6.gif