An Internet-Based and Mobile Family Management Intervention for Mothers of Very Preterm Infants Hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (the Preemie Progress Program): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

Background: Flexible approaches to parenting training interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including family integrated care (FICare) models, are urgently needed across the globe. Many FICare trials inadvertently exclude parents with low resources who cannot commit to daily infant care (eg, 4-8 hours/day). Preemie Progress (PP) is a fully automated, video-based training program that allows parents to choose when and where they learn, without requiring parent bedside presence.

Objective: This study aims to examine the feasibility of recruitment, retention, fidelity, and changes in outcomes during a pilot randomized controlled trial of PP, a video-based intervention aimed at training mothers of very preterm infants in evidence-based family management skills in the NICU.

Methods: Mothers of infants born between 25 weeks and 0 days to 31 weeks and 6 days of gestation were enrolled in an NICU in the Midwestern United States. Electronic surveys were sent to collect maternal outcomes (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] 8a depression and anxiety scales) at baseline (T1), 14 days (T2) and 28 days (T3) after T1, and 30 days after NICU discharge (T4). Infant electronic health records were extracted to collect infant (ie, weight gain velocity at 36 weeks and receipt of mother's milk) and health care outcomes (ie, NICU length of stay as well as readmissions and emergency department visits within 30 days of discharge).

Results: Of 123 eligible mothers, 64 (52%) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 arms (PP: n=33, 52%; attention control [AC]: n=31, 48%). Loss to follow-up was 30% (10/33) in the PP arm and 13% (4/31) in the AC arm. PP mothers watched a mean 17.8 (SD 18.9) of 49 videos. PP retention was linked to higher fidelity. PP mothers showed trends toward greater reductions in anxiety 30 days after discharge (mean -7.54, SD 1.93; 95% CI -11.32 to -3.76) compared to AC mothers (mean -4.67, SD 1.59; 95% CI -7.80 to -1.55). PP infants trended toward greater receipt of exclusively mother's milk 28 days after baseline (PP: 14/26, 54%; AC: 10/28, 36%) and decreased NICU stay (PP: 57.2 days; AC: 68.3 days) but higher readmissions (PP: 4/33, 12%; AC: 2/31, 6%).

Conclusions: We were able to recruit a diverse sample of mothers from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, including mothers experiencing barriers to bedside presence. Recruitment goals were met. PP showed promising trends in improving maternal, infant, and health care outcomes. Additional studies are needed to optimize PP and study procedures to improve retention and fidelity. PP has the potential to support parent training outside of traditional FICare models or serve as a complement to structure the parent education pillar of adapted FICare models.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04638127; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04638127.