Effects of a continuity of care program for parents with preterm infants on parental performances, parental readiness, and service utilization rates post discharge

This study tested the effects of a continuity of care for parents with preterm infants (CCPI) on parental performances, parental readiness and service utilization rates post discharge. A mixed-method research with concurrent triangulation design was done with an original CCPI program based on continuity of care and transition theory. Samples included 90 dyads of parents with preterm infants, randomly assigned by blocked randomization. The CCPI program effect was evaluated by the mean scores of the parental performances, the parental readiness, and the service utilization rates post discharge. The study suggests that the parents receiving the CCPI had significantly higher performances as well as higher readiness for hospital discharge than those parents of the control group (p< 0.01). In addition, the service utilization rates for samples significantly decreased (p< 0.01) at the fourth week after discharge, However, there was no significant difference between first and the second week after discharge. These study findings may help policymakers deploy CCPI programs for parents with preterm infants, while suggesting that CCPI should be used to promote growing preterm infants to significantly reduce post-discharge service utilization rate.