Calling all Premature babies mums and dads, research request to understand what support is wanted
Link is here to learn more or scan the QR code in the poster
The EXPAND study is exploring the post-discharge experiences of parents who have had a baby treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our aim is to understand the psychological needs of mums and dads in the year after discharge from neonatal care, and to improve our knowledge of what support families need once they are home with their baby. This research may help us to identify those families who need more support in the early stages of an admission and will help with service planning and provision for neonatal families in the future.
All parents whose baby has received neonatal intensive care and has either been discharged in the past 4 weeks or is due to be discharged within the next 4-weeks are invited to take part.
We aim to follow up parents who have signed up to the study across 3 time-points: 2-4 weeks post-discharge, 4-6 months post-discharge, 10-12 months post-discharge. We will be collecting quantitative data using online questionnaires at all 3 time-points, including demographic and infant data as well as several measures relating to parental experience, for example, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and trauma. We will also be asking about experiences of neonatal care and perceived social support.
The study was approved by the NHS Research Ethics Committee on 15/05/2023 and we are now starting recruitment. We will be recruiting a voluntary sample of parents via a recruitment poster.
The poster will be shared across social media (including Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) and we are asking neonatal charities and third sector organisations such as yours to help. We will also be displaying the poster on the Special Care Unit of level 3 NICUs.
We are sharing the poster with our PPROM parents as we feel this research is vital and will help the researchers to recruit a large and representative sample, importantly ensuring that all parents voices are heard.
It will help shape the future of new mums and dads enduring this journey in hope that more support is offered if required.
thank you for reading and taking part in this.
If you are in NICU/ Neonatal now, do share
