University of Massachusetts, Worcester
Up to a quarter of the families with preterm infants have unmet social needs, such as housing or job insecurity, which represent adverse social determinants of health (SDOH). Preterm infants are especially vulnerable to the social conditions they grow up in, with sustained impacts on function across multiple organ systems. The goal of this study is to translate an established model of SDOH screening and referral from the outpatient setting to the NICU, thereby maximizing the potential to offset the effects of adverse SDOH on vulnerable mother-preterm infant dyads.
The goal of this study is to implement SDOH screening and referral models in 7 safety net NICUs, examining their potential to offset the effects of adverse SDOH for a highly vulnerable population at the earliest stages of life. The investigators propose a hybrid effectiveness-implementation stepped wedge cluster randomized trial using the Proctor Conceptual Model of Implementation Research. The investigators will follow a cohort of 882 mother-infant dyads longitudinally for 12 months after NICU discharge to examine family, maternal, and infant outcomes. Each site will participate in three phas…
Inclusion Criteria: * Infant gestational age \<34 weeks' gestation; singleton or multiple. * Infant hospitalized for at least 14 days of life (to allow for SDOH screening/referral and contact with resources if applicable). * Mother and infant are alive. * Mother speaks and reads English or Spanish. * Infant will be discharged home from the NICU (to allow for follow-up). * Mother will care for her infant(s) at home in the US for at least 12 months after discharge from the NICU. Exclusion Criteria: * Mothers or infants who die before anticipated infant discharge. * Infant discharged after 52…
WE CARE is a relatively simple, low-intensity intervention that has two key components: (1) screening individuals using the WE CARE SDOH Screener for unmet social needs, and (2) providing individuals who have unmet social needs with SDOH Community Resource sheets