title: Health Care Use Outcomes of an Integrated Hospital-to-Home Mother-Preterm Infant Intervention.
abstract: To compare health care use from initial hospital discharge through 6 weeks corrected age in two groups of mother-preterm infant dyads: those who received an intervention, Hospital to Home: Optimizing Premature Infant's Environment (H-HOPE), and an attention control group.
  
  
  
  Prospective randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  
  Two community hospital NICUs.
  
  
  
  Mothers (n = 147) with social-environmental risk factors and their stable preterm infants.
  
  
  
  Mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned to the H-HOPE or control group. When infants reached 6 weeks corrected age, information about health care visits since their hospital discharges was collected through an interview.
  
  
  
  Only half of all infants received all recommended well-child visits. Infants in H-HOPE were half as likely to have acute care episodes (illness visit to the clinic or emergency department or hospital readmission) as control infants (odds ratio [OR] = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.22, 0.95]). Infants of mothers with high trait anxiety were nearly 3 times more likely to have an acute care episode (OR = 2.78, 95% CI [1.05, 7.26]), and mothers who had low education levels (OR = .22, 95% CI [0.08, 0.60]) were less likely to have acute care episodes. There was a trend toward fewer acute care visits for infants whose mothers preferred an English interview (OR = .47, 95% CI [0.21, 1.06]).
  
  
  
  Findings emphasize the importance of reinforcing well-child visits for vulnerable preterm infants. H-HOPE, an integrated mother-infant intervention, reduces acute care episodes (visits to the clinic or emergency department or hospital readmissions) for preterm infants.
authors: Susan C
authors: SC
authors: Vonderheid
authors: Kristin
authors: K
authors: Rankin
authors: Kathleen
authors: K
authors: Norr
authors: Rohitkamar
authors: R
authors: Vasa
authors: Sharice
authors: S
authors: Hill
authors: Rosemary
authors: R
authors: White-Traut
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases; D009035:Mothers; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: RCT; health care use; illness rates; multisensory developmental intervention; preterm infant