Survey in the Campania region of follow-up services for premature infants

Abstract

Prematurity is not an extemporaneous event but a chronic condition that may manifest over time in a manner that is as severe as the earlier the birth. Therefore, the course of care cannot end at the time of discharge but necessarily continues over time with a clinical and affective relationship with young patients and their families. (WHO, 2015).

The purpose of this study is to conduct a cognitive survey of the state of the art of Preterm Infant Follow-up services in the Campania region; surveying their points of strengths and critical issues, and raise awareness among NICU managers of the importance of the resource enhancement to ensure its operation adheres to recommendations of organizational standards for perinatal care. The characteristics of the premature infant, possible neuroevolutionary trajectories, and the developmental outcomes associated with prematurity. The follow-up of the at-risk infant according to the recommendations of the organizational standards for perinatal care and the guidelines of the recent handbook "The Follow-up of the Preterm Infant. The First Six Years of Life," which is an important milestone in the perinatal clinic with the establishment of the services of Follow-up in order to ensure care pathways even after discharge.

The importance of the speech-language pathologist and his role in the Follow-up service team is emphasized, and the areas of assessment of oral-alimentary functions, communication, language, and learning are explored. Finally, the questionnaire used for the state-of-the-art analysis of Preterm Infant Follow-up services involving twelve out of seventeen Neonatal Intensive Care Unit departments in the Campania region was presented. The experience conducted for the compilation of this thesis allowed us to outline the importance of the speech pathologist in the Follow-up service team, to promote networked pathways with the territorial facilities and finally to ensure adequate Follow-up service in terms of appropriateness and effectiveness.