Staff training makes a difference: improvements in neonatal illicit drug testing and intervention at a tertiary hospital.
OBJECTIVE
This project explored the impact of staff training on the rates of perinatal maternal and neonatal illicit drug testing.


METHODS
Controlled, retrospective chart review on 1186 newborn and mother dyads from 2006 (pre-training control group) and on 1861 dyads from 2009 (post-training study group) was completed. Differences between rates of infant and mother drug testing were compared.


RESULTS
Increased drug testing rates for the mothers and infants led to increased case finding that tripled both for the mothers (13-3.7%, p < 0.001) and for the infants (0.9-2.9%, p < 0.001). Missed opportunities for newborn testing was reduced by 35 times (20.9-0.6%, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
This retrospective study led to an increase in the number of documented drug-exposed newborns. This research emphasizes the importance of and encourages other hospitals to analyze the efficacy of their current protocol and staff training practices in place to ensure the best child protection services.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine , Iowa City, IA , USA .
Resmiye
R
Oral
Feyza
F
Koc
Kristen
K
Jogerst
Levent
L
Bayman
Andrea
A
Austin
Shannon
S
Sullivan
Emine Ozgur
EO
Bayman
D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
Illicit drug; perinatal; staff; test; training