Addressing Health-Related Social Needs and Mental Health Needs in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit : Exploring Challenges and the Potential of Technology

Unaddressed health-related social needs (HRSNs) and parental mental health needs in an infant's environment can negatively affect their health outcomes. This study examines the challenges and potential technological solutions for addressing these needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting and beyond. In all, 22 semistructured interviews were conducted with members of the NICU care team and other relevant stakeholders, based on an interpretive description approach. The participants were selected from three safety net hospitals in the U.S. with level IV NICUs. The challenges identified include navigating the multitude of burdens families in the NICU experience, resource constraints within and beyond the health system, a lack of streamlined or consistent processes, no closed-loop referrals to track status and outcomes, and gaps in support postdischarge. Opportunities for leveraging technology to facilitate screening and referral include automating screening, initiating risk-based referrals, using remote check-ins, facilitating resource navigation, tracking referrals, and providing language support. However, technological implementations should avoid perpetuating disparities and consider potential privacy or data-sharing concerns. Although advances in technological health tools alone cannot address all the challenges, they have the potential to offer dynamic tools to support the healthcare setting in identifying and addressing the unique needs and circumstances of each family in the NICU.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:20

Enthalten in:

International journal of environmental research and public health - 20(2023), 24 vom: 09. Dez.

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

van de Kamp, Eline [VerfasserIn]
Ma, Jasmin [VerfasserIn]
Monangi, Nagendra [VerfasserIn]
Tsui, Fuchiang Rich [VerfasserIn]
Jani, Shilpa G [VerfasserIn]
Kim, Jae H [VerfasserIn]
Kahn, Robert S [VerfasserIn]
Wang, C Jason [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Health-related social needs
Infant development
Infant health
Journal Article
Mobile health technology
Neonatal intensive care unit
Parental mental health
Social determinants of health
Social work

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 25.12.2023

Date Revised 25.12.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.3390/ijerph20247161

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM366223720