TY - JOUR
T1 - A pilot study demonstrating the impact of the supporting and enhancing NICU sensory experiences (SENSE) program on the mother and infant
AU - Pineda, Roberta
AU - Wallendorf, Michael
AU - Smith, Joan
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation , the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( U54 HD087011 ) to the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Washington University, and by the National Institutes of Health R24 ( 5R24HD065688-05 ) awarded to the Boston Rehabilitation Outcomes Center. Research reported in this publication was supported by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant UL1 TR000448 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - Aim: To explore differences in maternal mental health and infant neurobehavioral outcome among infants who received and did not receive the Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) program. Study design: Eighty preterm infants (50 receiving standard-of-care and 30 receiving the SENSE program) born ≤32 weeks gestation were enrolled within the first week of life in a prospective quasi-experimental design, using a historical control group for comparison. Standard-of-care consisted of tactile (skin-to-skin, touch, holding) and olfactory (scent cloth, close maternal contact) interventions as determined to be appropriate by health care professionals and parents. The SENSE group received specific doses of tactile (skin-to-skin care, holding, massage, touch), auditory (human speech, music), olfactory (scent cloth, close maternal contact), kinesthetic/vestibular (movement, rocking/transfers), and visual (dim or cycled light) exposures, based on the infant's postmenstrual age and tailored to medical status and infant cues according to the SENSE program. The SENSE program includes the intentional delivery of positive, age-appropriate sensory exposures by parents (or a sensory support team, when parents are unavailable) each day of NICU hospitalization. Infant neurobehavioral outcome, as well as maternal mental health and confidence, were assessed prior to NICU discharge, using standardized measures. Results: Seventy-three infants were included in the final analysis. Mothers whose infants received the SENSE program demonstrated higher scores on the Maternal Confidence Questionnaire (p = 0.01). Infants who received the SENSE program demonstrated less asymmetry on the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (p = 0.02; mean difference 0.9) and higher scores on the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Evaluation (p < 0.001; mean difference 4.8). Discussion: Preliminary evidence demonstrates improvements in maternal confidence and infant neurobehavioral performance following SENSE implementation.
AB - Aim: To explore differences in maternal mental health and infant neurobehavioral outcome among infants who received and did not receive the Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) program. Study design: Eighty preterm infants (50 receiving standard-of-care and 30 receiving the SENSE program) born ≤32 weeks gestation were enrolled within the first week of life in a prospective quasi-experimental design, using a historical control group for comparison. Standard-of-care consisted of tactile (skin-to-skin, touch, holding) and olfactory (scent cloth, close maternal contact) interventions as determined to be appropriate by health care professionals and parents. The SENSE group received specific doses of tactile (skin-to-skin care, holding, massage, touch), auditory (human speech, music), olfactory (scent cloth, close maternal contact), kinesthetic/vestibular (movement, rocking/transfers), and visual (dim or cycled light) exposures, based on the infant's postmenstrual age and tailored to medical status and infant cues according to the SENSE program. The SENSE program includes the intentional delivery of positive, age-appropriate sensory exposures by parents (or a sensory support team, when parents are unavailable) each day of NICU hospitalization. Infant neurobehavioral outcome, as well as maternal mental health and confidence, were assessed prior to NICU discharge, using standardized measures. Results: Seventy-three infants were included in the final analysis. Mothers whose infants received the SENSE program demonstrated higher scores on the Maternal Confidence Questionnaire (p = 0.01). Infants who received the SENSE program demonstrated less asymmetry on the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (p = 0.02; mean difference 0.9) and higher scores on the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Evaluation (p < 0.001; mean difference 4.8). Discussion: Preliminary evidence demonstrates improvements in maternal confidence and infant neurobehavioral performance following SENSE implementation.
KW - Environment
KW - Neonatal intensive care unit
KW - Preterm
KW - Sensory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081038294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105000
DO - 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105000
M3 - Article
C2 - 32151905
AN - SCOPUS:85081038294
SN - 0378-3782
VL - 144
JO - Early Human Development
JF - Early Human Development
M1 - 105000
ER -