title: Reducing hospital expenditures with the COPE (Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment) program for parents and premature infants: an analysis of direct healthcare neonatal intensive care unit costs and savings.
abstract: More than 500,000 premature infants are born in the United States every year. Preterm birth results in a multitude of negative adverse outcomes for children, including extended stays in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), developmental delays, physical and mental health/behavioral problems, increased medical utilization, and poor academic performance. In addition, parents of preterms experience a higher incidence of depression and anxiety disorders along with altered parent-infant interactions and overprotective parenting, which negatively impact their children. The costs associated with preterm birth are exorbitant. In 2005, it is estimated that preterm birth cost the United States $26.2 billion. The purpose of this study was to perform a cost analysis of the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) program for parents of premature infants, a manualized educational-behavioral intervention program comprising audiotaped information and an activity workbook that is administered to parents in 4 phases, the first phase commencing 2 to 4 days after admission to the NICU. Findings indicated that the COPE program resulted in cost savings of at least $4864 per infant. In addition to improving parent and child outcomes, routine implementation of COPE in NICUs across the United States could save the healthcare system more than $2 billion per year.
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, 500 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA. Bernadette.Melnyk@asu.edu
authors.forename: Bernadette Mazurek
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Melnyk
authors.forename: Nancy Fischbeck
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Feinstein
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research / Q000191:economics; D010290:Parents; D011209:Power, Psychological; D016730:Program Development / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States