Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improving Maternal And Infant Health: A Quality Improvement Initiative To Recognize Postpartum Depression In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Amy Barry

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

BACKGROUND: While postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant problem in the postpartum population, emerging literature suggests that PPD is disproportionately concentrated and underdiagnosed among mothers of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project was to institute a PPD screening protocol within a Level III NICU to identify mothers exhibiting signs of distress and initiate social work referrals.

METHODS: A quality improvement project implemented utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework and a pre-and-posttest design.

INTERVENTION: Staff education regarding PPD symptoms and the project’s protocol occurred via electronic means. Mothers of NICU infants who remained …

A Quality Improvement Project: Implementing Safe Sleep Practice In A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Morgan Demyer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Significance: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends safe sleep practices (SSP) to reduce infant sleep-related deaths. Annually 3,500 babies die due to improper sleeping conditions, and Kentucky is among the lower-performing states for infant sleep safety. The AAP recommends initiating SSP with infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and recently expanded recommendations in 2022. Presently, there is no regulation of healthcare clinician education regarding SSP or role-modeling behavior in the in-patient setting.

Purpose: This scholarly project aimed to improve knowledge and awareness of SSP by improving clinician knowledge and behavior of SSP use in NICU and …

Developmentally Supportive Positioning In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Taylor Morganti

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Background: An estimated 15 million infants worldwide are born prematurely each year. These infants are at an increased risk of poor physical and neurodevelopment because of increased stress and inappropriate sensory stimuli experienced in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The provision of developmentally supportive care can mitigate some of these noxious effects. By decreasing stress and conserving energy, developmentally supportive positioning can enhance sensory, motor, and neurodevelopment. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to improve the positioning of premature neonates through an educational intervention and staff training on the importance of developmentally supportive positioning. Improved positioning …

Analysis Of Unplanned Extubations At A University Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Elizabeth Turcotte

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Unplanned extubations represent a serious adverse event that occurs within neonatal intensive care units. The current literature on unplanned extubations suggests that the incidence of these events can be reduced in the clinical setting. UEs represent the primary respiratory-related adverse event in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and can result in cardiopulmonary collapse requiring emergent reintubation (Carvalho, Mezzacappa, Calil, & Machado, 2010). Staff members of the University of Louisville’s neonatal intensive care unit collected data surrounding unplanned neonatal extubations from November 2017 through December 2018. These data have been used to target modifiable risk factors temporally associated with unplanned …