Language outcomes at 36 months in prematurely born children is associated with the quality of developmental care in NICUs.
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the quality levels of NICU developmental care (DC) and language skills at 36 months in very preterm (VPT) children.



Language skills of 78 VPT children from 19 NICUs and 90 full-term controls was assessed using a standardized language test. We compared children' language task performance by splitting NICUs into units with high- and low-quality of DC according to two main factors: (1) infant centered care (ICC), and (2) infant pain management (IPM).



VPT children from low-care units with respect to ICC obtained lower scores in sentence comprehension, compared to children from high-care units. No differences were found between preterm children from high-quality ICC NICUs and full-term children.



Findings suggest that higher quality of DC related to infant centered care can mitigate delays in language skills at 36 months in children born VPT.
0-3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
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Montirosso
0-3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
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Giusti
Department of Neonatal Care and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy.
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Del Prete
Department of Neonatal Care and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy.
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Zanini
Department of Neonatal Care and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy.
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Bellù
Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
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Borgatti
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000592:standards*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007558:Italy; D007807:Language Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D059408:Pain Management; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011788:Quality of Life