Abstract
To determine the feasibility and acceptability of the Baby Bridge telehealth model, aimed at expediting the time to therapy activation after neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. High-risk infants needing therapy after NICU discharge had an in-person therapy visit in the NICU to consent and conduct standardized assessments, followed by weekly telehealth Baby Bridge services starting within 1 week of NICU discharge. Among eight families, the first Baby Bridge telehealth session occurred at an average of 6.0 ± 2.6 days following discharge. They received an average of 8.3 (±2.1) telehealth sessions over 9.2 (±3.5) weeks. All therapy sessions after NICU discharge were accomplished with telehealth rather than in-person sessions. Satisfaction surveys of the eight families indicated they were “very satisfied” with Baby Bridge telehealth services. Telehealth Baby Bridge services appear to be feasible and acceptable when implementing programming to improve early therapy access for high-risk infants.
Plain Language Summary
High-risk infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often have significant developmental difficulties that can be observed prior to NICU discharge. Although many infants will receive therapy services in the NICU, ongoing therapy services after discharge are important. However, therapy after NICU discharge is often delayed by several months, preventing the infant and family from receiving the services that they need. A special program called The Baby Bridge program was developed to support families in the months after NICU discharge, which is a time when there is often a delay in the initiation of community-based services. The Baby Bridge program consists of a dedicated therapist who meets the family in the NICU, visits the family in the home within 1 week of discharge, and then does weekly therapy sessions at home until other services start (which typically include early intervention services through the state). The Baby Bridge program has been shown to be feasible as an in-home model, but the telehealth model of this program has not yet been studied. This study aimed to study an adapted telehealth Baby Bridge program to determine if telehealth visits after NICU discharge were feasible and acceptable to parents. For infants referred to occupational therapy at NICU discharge, there was an in-person visit in the NICU to meet the family and determine the needs of the baby and family. Then, the family received weekly telehealth Baby Bridge services starting within 1 week of NICU discharge. In eight families who completed the study, the infants were seen for their first telehealth visit at an average of 6 days after NICU discharge. They received an average of eight telehealth visits over 9 weeks before transitioning to early intervention programming. All therapy sessions after NICU discharge were accomplished with telehealth rather than in-person sessions. All parents were very satisfied with Baby Bridge telehealth services.
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