Impact of COVID-19-Related Restrictions on Parental Presence and Activities in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different restriction measures on parental presence and activities in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted in a level IV NICU in Japan between February 2021 and October 2023. The study included preterm infants born at < 35 weeks of gestation. Study groups included three different restriction measures: R1, only parents could visit the NICU between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.; R2, grandparents and parents were allowed; and R3, visiting hours were extended to between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Primary outcomes were duration of parental presence (minutes per visit) and visiting frequency (days per week). Linear mixed models were used to adjust for potential confounders and to account for each family.

RESULTS

We analyzed 4589 visits made by 89 families of 110 preterm infants. There were 69, 33, and 24 infants in the R1, R2, and R3 groups, respectively. In a linear mixed model, duration of at least one of the parents' presence in the NICU (mean difference [95% confidence interval]) was significantly longer in the R2 group than that in the R1 group (54.9 [36.9-68.5] min), and also in the R3 group than that in the R2 group (28.4 [9.3-45.8] min). Additionally, the frequency of parental visits to the NICU per week did not change between R1 and R2, but it increased significantly between R2 and R3 (0.5 [0.1-0.9]).

CONCLUSIONS

Alleviating restrictive measures in NICUs may increase parental presence and visit frequency.