Children Born Preterm: How Are We Educating Providers?

Background: Prematurity affects 10% of American children. Despite excellent survival rates, children born preterm have potential long-term physical, psychological, neurodevelopmental, and behavioral impairments. Nurse practitioners are essential health care providers in primary and specialty settings. The specific aim was to examine select pediatric textbooks for content related to children born preterm. Method: Six textbooks published between 2012 and 2017 were selected and analyzed using summative content analysis to identify inclusion of content within newborn, toddler, school-age, and adolescent categories. Results: The newborn category earned the highest scores, ranging from 16 to 47 (mean = 32.4 +/- 13.41, maximum possible = 92). All textbooks reviewed failed to adequately address topic categories for school-age and adolescent children born preterm. Conclusion: Pediatric textbooks fail to address the health and neurodevelopmental risks of children born preterm. Revisions to future textbooks and health care provider curriculum are needed to increased knowledge of this special population.