Survival of an increasing number of infants born preterm requires the healthcare community to focus on quality of life issues for both the child and the family. In one effort to enhance quality of life, hospitals have adopted a patient-centered, family-focused approach to medical and health related care. Findings from research have demonstrated that familial involvement in infant care is critical and that improved infant outcome relies on both the physical capabilities of the infant and on parent-infant interaction. Furthermore, the quality of parent-infant interaction has been shown to be a better predictor of improved outcome than traditional perinatal physical assessments. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of three methods for delivering instruction to parents regarding handling of their infants who were born preterm and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A secondary purpose was to examine the effect of instruction on reported parental anxiety regarding infant handling.
