Abstract
Kari Tanta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA is the rehabilitation manager of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the NICU follow-up (NFU) program at Valley Medical Center (VMC). To address the problem of decreased NFU attendance, the following clinical question was asked: “For families with an infant who has been discharged from a NICU, which factors promote or discourage utilization of follow-up services?” Numerous facilitators and barriers affecting attendance were identified relating to severity of infant illness, parent socioeconomic status and education levels, and pragmatic factors including timing of scheduling.
Knowledge translation activities undertaken included collaboration with University of Washington (UW) students, collaboration with grant writer Leanna Birge, PhD, and submission of findings for publication. Due to conflicting schedules, collaboration with the UW students was limited to a brief telephone dialogue. The collaboration with Dr. Birge will directly support the acquisition of grants for informal quality improvement (QI) studies. The submitted article will potentially reach many readers specializing in pediatrics, though it is difficult to assess the true reach of the article. Further research should investigate effective methods for increasing NFU program service utilization.
Publication Place
Tacoma, Washington
Publisher
University of Puget Sound
Project Chairperson
Jennifer Pitonyak, PhD, OTR/L, SCFES
Project Chairperson
Publication Date
5-2017
Genre
Capstone Project
Format
Language
English
Copyright Information
Terms of Use for work posted in Sound Ideas: http://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/copyright.html
Degree Program
Occupational Therapy
Degree Level
Master of Science
Discipline
Occupational Therapy
School
University of Puget Sound
Recommended Citation
Clark, Ciara; Rudy, Mariko; and Maher, Lauren, "Facilitators and Barriers to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Follow-Up Program Attendance: A Critically Appraised Topic" (2017). School of Occupational Therapy Master's Capstone Projects (2016-2021). 21.
https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/ot_capstone/21