Neonatal healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic

This research project explores infant and family centred developmental care (IFCDC) and nurturing care in neonatal healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This project runs from January 2023 to May 2024.

Background
Methodology
Research aims
Team
Outputs
Related links
Contact us

Boy looking at baby brother in infant ward. Credit: Gabriel Tovar via Unsplash.

Background

From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals around the world reacted rapidly to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in neonatal settings. Within the context of a global, unprecedented crisis, there was a lack of established guidelines regarding sick or preterm newborn care (SSNC).

As such, restrictive measures intended to protect babies from infection led to major disruptions in SSNC from the family and caregiver level to the policy level. This unintendedly affected progress towards the provision of infant and family centred developmental care (IFCDC) and nurturing care; it is unknown to what extent these disruptions persist to date. Research reports on adaptations to IFCDC and nurturing care in response to the COVID-19 continue to emerge.

Methodology

We conducted a systematic review of primary empirical studies sourced from a Living Map of COVID-19 maintained by the UCL EPPI Centre. A supplement search was conducted on three medical databases CINAHL and PubMed. Key IFCDC search terms were developed alongside a steering group of stakeholders, which was established to ensure that the methods were fit-for-purpose, and the findings are relevant. Studies were included if they reported IFCDC outcomes of sick or preterm infants in NICUs and if data collection took place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research aims

The project aims to identify how IFCDC/nurturing care practices were adapted or affected during the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals around the world, so as to provide insights on how such practices may be safely maintained in future crises.

The project addresses the following research questions:

In what ways did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the provision of IFCDC/nurturing care in neonatal units for sick or preterm newborn babies?
How have adaptations to different aspects of IFCDC/nurturing care of sick or small newborn babies been reported?
Are there new approaches to communicating/engaging with families as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
What adaptations to IFCDC/nurturing care of sick or small newborn babies in hospitals could be implemented in future crises?

Team

Principal investigator

Dr Rosa M Mendizabal-Espinosa, Social Research Institute, UCL

Research assistants

Kristyna Skriczka
Sum Yue (Jessica) Ko

Research intern

Sherena Joymungul-Khan

Advisory Board

Dr Kelly Dickson, EPPI Centre, UCL
Dr Mukdarut Bangpan, EPPI Centre UCL
Dr Ginny Brunton, Ontario Tech University
Dr Inga Warren, Senior NIDCAP Trainer at UCLH
Dr Bjorn Westrup, Director of Karolinska NIDCAP Training and Research Center
Professor Pablo Duran, Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatología/Salud de la Mujer y Reproductiva (CLAP/SMR) OPS/OMS
Gaby Cardoso and Sandra Moreno (parent representatives)

Outputs

Evidence Gap Map of IFCDC practices in NICU during the COVID-19 pandemic