Open AccessSmartphones and Text Messaging are Associated With Higher Parent Quality of Life Scores and Enrollment in Early Intervention After NICU Discharge
Author(s) -
Nicole Flores-Fenlon,
Ashley Song,
Amy M. Yeh,
Kameelah Gateau,
Douglas Vanderbilt,
Michele D. Kipke,
Philippe Friedlich,
Ashwini Lakshmanan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
clinical pediatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.387
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1938-2707
pISSN - 0009-9228
DOI - 10.1177/0009922819848080
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , neonatal intensive care unit , logistic regression , quality of life (healthcare) , psychological intervention , pediatrics , nursing
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of access to communication technology on caregiver quality of life, neurodevelopmental, and medical outcomes (eg, rehospitalization, emergency room visits, or surgeries) in preterm infants, and enrollment in public assistance programs. In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed families of preterm infants in a high-risk infant-follow-up clinic. We estimated associations of access to various modes of communication technology with outcomes, adjusting for sociodemographic and infant characteristics using linear and unconditional logistic regression. Access to email, text messaging, and smartphones was associated with higher quality of life scores on the Multicultural Quality of Life Index, and email and smartphone access was significantly associated with increased enrollment in early intervention. Evaluating smartphone and email access on neonatal intensive care unit discharge is important when considering enrollment in community programs and caregiver quality of life.