Influence of home care in hospital on the post-discharged quality life of preterm infants

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of home care in hospital on the improvement of the post-discharged quality of life in preterm infants. Methods Seventy-four preterm infants who were hospitalized in NICU of Kunming Children's Hospital from August of 2015 to July of 2016 were included and divided into the control group and the invention group at random. Thirty-seven preterm infants were included into each group. The preterm infants in the control group accepted the conventional treatment and nursing in hospital. Besides the conventional treatment and nursing, the parents of the preterm infants in the intervention group accepted the preterm infant nursing which simulated the home environment when the infants were in hospital. Using the follow-up investigation method, the weight increasing, the rate of re-visiting the doctor of the preterm infants in the two groups were observed when they were discharged. Results One month after discharge the weight increasing of the preterm infants in the intervention group was (0.987±0.231) kg, which was significantly higher compared to the control group (0.760±0.179) kg (t=15.22, P<0.05) . One month after discharge the rate of re-visiting the doctor in the intervention group was 1, which was significantly fewer compared to the control group (χ2=8.86, P<0.05) . Conclusions Home care in hospital increases the parents' ability of taking care of preterm infants effectively, improves the health level and the development of preterm infants in NICU when they were discharged. Key words: Infant, preterm; Quality of life; Home care in hospital