Care of infants with neonatal withdrawal in Canadian hospital settings: Has practice advanced in ten years? : Revision and pilot testing of a national survey instrument
Date
2013-08-30
Authors
Loutit, Tara
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Abstract
Substance use during pregnancy can adversely affect both health and social outcomes for the infant and the mother. Many practices related to the care of infants with prenatal substance exposure are not consistent from one facility to another and have been developed on an anecdotal basis rather than based on empirical research. A replication study of a 2002 national practice survey is being planned that will describe some of the practices related to daily care, discharge planning, and community support for this group of infants and their caregivers. In this thesis, I present the findings of a pilot study that was conducted as a prelude to this larger national study. A summary of a literature review of recent survey research is presented along with a description of the process of revising a previously developed instrument to survey the practices used when caring for infants with prenatal drug and alcohol exposure and their mothers in the hospital setting. Content validity of this revised instrument was established with the support of a content expert group and the revised instrument was pilot tested with a small sample of nurses who practice in hospitals that will not be eligible for the national study. The findings from this pilot study will guide the research team in developing and conducting the national survey.
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Keywords
Neonate, Substance Use, Infant, Survey, Pilot study, Neonatal withdrawal