Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and neonatal length of the stay.

Abstract

Infants with past NICU admission have a significantly higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. Studies have demonstrated an iatrogenic effect of the NICU environment on neurodevelopmental outcomes, even while accounting for physical factors. It is, therefore, critical that an infant's LOS is driven by physical needs versus sociodemographic barriers. We leveraged electronic health records and a backward selection regression model to explore physical and sociodemographic predictors of infant LOS. Our results demonstrated that physical predictors (birthweight and ventilator use) accounted for the majority of variance in our model but that a sociodemographic predictor, mean visits per day, was also significant. Infants who were visited more frequently experienced a shorter LOS, possibly due to increased parental involvement resulting in more individualized care and directly impacting infant stability and morbidity. By supporting visitation, we can reduce the costs of lengthy NICU hospitalizations while improving infant and parent health and well-being.