NICU2HOME+: Supporting Illinois Families

The purpose of this project is to provide a stepwise, methodical approach to developing and testing the ability of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 2 Home (NICU2HOME+) to support diverse Illinois families of premature infants during and after their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stays in an effort to address health equity, improve parenting, and reduce costs. There are 3 objectives of the study: 1) Identify and assess the requirements for expansion of NICU2HOME+, a suite of mobile patient education and engagement applications with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) integration that is culturally appropriate and customized to the needs of a diverse population of patients and families to 3 additional level III Illinois NICUS; 2) develop and deploy NICU2HOME+ to these 3 additional NICUs; and 3)determine if it is effective in: a) addressing health equity issues, b) improving parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction, and c) improving NICU outcomes such as a reduced length of stay and lower readmission rates that result in lower healthcare costs. All research recruitment and participation will take place in the following spaces: 1. Northwestern Medicine's Central DuPage Hospital (25 N.Winfield Rd., Winfield, IL)- NICU, Postpartum, and Research Offices 2. Northwest Community Hospital (800 W. Central Rd., Arlington Heights, IL)- NICU,Postpartum, and Research Offices 3. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)- NICU, Postpartum, and Research Offices