Promoting developmental supportive care in preterm infants and families in a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting in India

Despite evidence of short- and long-term benefits of developmental care, several studies have documented nurses' lack of knowledge and skills related to developmental care concepts. This study aims to enhance neonatal nurses' abilities to acquire care practices (knowledge and skills) regarding Developmental Supportive Care (DSC). A nonrandomized before and after intervention design was adopted to improve the knowledge and skills of staff nurses in DSC practices for preterm infants in Level III B NICU. The study included 50 level III B NICU nurses (25 in interventional group, 25 in control group) located within a tertiary care hospital in India. A significant increase in the mean knowledge score was seen among participants in the intervention group (pre-test: 16.6 +/- 3.1, post-test: 29.9 +/- 4.1, p = 0.01) but not in the control group (pre: 16.4 +/- 2.2, post: 18.6 +/- 3.6, p = 0.98). The improvement in the skills of providing DSC among neonatal nurses was also higher in the intervention group (106.4 +/- 7.4) relative to the control group (65.8 +/- 3.6), p < 0.01, at 0.05 level of significance. The Developmental Supportive Care Program (DSCP) had a significant impact in improving the knowledge and skills of nurses in providing care and preventing complications in preterm infants.