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The feasibility of virtual home visits to address unmet needs after NICU discharge

Journal of Perinatology volume 45, pages 395–396 (2025)Cite this article

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Preterm infants and their families face health, logistical, and financial stressors as they transition from NICU to home [1]. Home visits by visiting nurses, helpful to parents after neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge [2], are increasingly unavailable. Evidence-based home visiting programs for young, first-time, or socially at-risk parents may not meet the specialized needs of infants with medical complexity and face frequent funding shortfalls. Neonatal follow-up programs provide specialized medical and developmental care for NICU graduates, though visit timing and frequency are highly variable [3]. One highly impactful transition home program incorporates in-person home visits [4]. Drawing on examples of successful virtual home visiting programs for children with social risk and innovations in telehealth approaches to high-risk infant follow-up developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we demonstrate the feasibility of virtual home visits (VHV) to address families’ unmet health, psychosocial, and material needs after NICU discharge.

We conducted our pilot project in the NICU Growth and Developmental Support (GraDS) program, providing medical and developmental care to preterm infants at an urban quaternary children’s hospital. Infants born <32 weeks’ gestation or <1500 g or 32–35 6/7 weeks’ gestation with significant medical complexity or social risk are eligible. The multidisciplinary team is comprised of a neonatologist, pediatric nurse practitioner, psychologist, physical and occupational therapist, social worker, patient and family educator, and program coordinator. Clinic visits begin 3–6 months after NICU discharge and continue every 6–10 months until the child is 3 years of age.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan S. Litt, Paige T. Church & Jane E. Stewart

  2. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan S. Litt, Paige T. Church, Julianna Howland & Jane E. Stewart

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan S. Litt, Paige T. Church & Jane E. Stewart

  4. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan S. Litt

  5. Department of Social Work, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie Belmont

Authors
  1. Jonathan S. Litt
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  2. Julie Belmont
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  3. Paige T. Church
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  4. Julianna Howland
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  5. Jane E. Stewart
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Contributions

JSL conceived of the study, performed the data analysis, drafted the initial manuscript, and approved the final submission. JB reviewed the manuscript, provided critical content expertise to the project, and approved the final submission. PTC conceived of the study, reviewed the manuscript, provided critical content expertise to the project, and approved the final submission. JH reviewed the manuscript, provided critical content expertise to the project and approved the final submission. JES conceived of the study, reviewed the manuscript, provided critical content expertise to the project, and approved the final submission.

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Correspondence to Jonathan S. Litt.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Litt, J.S., Belmont, J., Church, P.T. et al. The feasibility of virtual home visits to address unmet needs after NICU discharge. J Perinatol 45, 395–396 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02180-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02180-2

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