Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Rates of connection to early intervention from the neonatal intensive care unit in a high risk infant follow-up program

Journal of Perinatology volume 42, pages 1412–1414 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

Early intervention (EI) programs post-hospital discharge can improve motor and cognitive outcomes in preterm infants [1], however, research indicates substantial underutilization of EI [2]. Multiple barriers to connection have been reported by low-income families [3].

Many infants being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with a history of prematurity, LBW, or other medical complications will qualify for state EI programs [4]. Referrals to EI programs at NICU discharge is a potential opportunity to connect at-risk infants to beneficial programs as soon as possible. High-risk infant follow-up (HRIF) programs provide an opportunity for EI connection, however, many who qualify for HRIF programs are lost to follow-up [5]. Missing the opportunity to refer eligible infants to EI programs at NICU discharge has the potential to delay access to therapies and support to mitigate developmental delay, which may further exacerbate socioeconomic and racial disparities in outcomes for preterm and high-risk infants This study aimed to assess the rates of EI connection at the first HRIF visit at an urban, tertiary-care hospital that serves a diverse population.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Spittle A, Orton J, Anderson PJ, Boyd R, Doyle LW. Early developmental intervention programmes provided post hospital discharge to prevent motor and cognitive impairment in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;CD005495.

  2. Easter Seals. Our Nation’s Children are at Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention, 2011 [Internet] Available from: https://secure.easterseals.com/site/DocServer/Our_Nations_Children_at_Risk_full_report.pdf?docID=146598.

  3. Lakshmanan A, Rogers E, Lu T, Gray E, Vernon L, Profit J, et al. Factors associated with completion of at least one high-risk infant clinic visit between 18-36 months for very low birth weight infants in California. Pediatric Academic Societies, May, 2, 2020 (Poster Session, Neonatal Follow-up 3, 817).

  4. Dempsey AG, Goode RH, Colon MT, Holubeck P, Nsier H, Zopatti K, et al. Variations in criteria for eligibility determination for early intervention services with a focus on eligibility for children with neonatal complications. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2020;41:646–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hintz SR, Gould JB, Bennett MV, Lu T, Gray EE, Jocson MAL, et al. Factors associated with successful first high-risk infant clinic visit for very low birth weight infants in California. J Pediatr. 2019;210:91–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Christine B. Mirzaian

  2. Fetal and Neonatal Medicine Institute, Division of Neonatal Medicine, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Tejal Ghadiali, Nicole Vestal & Ashwini Lakshmanan

  3. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ashley Song

  4. Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Douglas Vanderbilt

  5. Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ashwini Lakshmanan

  6. Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ashwini Lakshmanan

Authors
  1. Christine B. Mirzaian
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tejal Ghadiali
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nicole Vestal
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ashley Song
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Douglas Vanderbilt
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ashwini Lakshmanan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

CM developed the concept of the study, contributed significantly to data abstraction, and led the writing of the manuscript TG conducted data abstraction and assisted with literature review and helped write the manuscript NV conducted data abstraction and assisted with literature review and helped write the manuscript AS conducted the statistical analysis and helped to create Table 1 in the manuscript DV assisted in developing the concept of the study and revised the work critically for important intellectual content AL developed and supervised the data acquisition plan and contributed significantly to the writing of and revision of the manuscript All authors approved the final version to be published.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine B. Mirzaian.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mirzaian, C.B., Ghadiali, T., Vestal, N. et al. Rates of connection to early intervention from the neonatal intensive care unit in a high risk infant follow-up program. J Perinatol 42, 1412–1414 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01408-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01408-3

Search

Advanced search

Quick links