Promoting Developmental Outcomes of Premature Infants by Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE)

Objectives: premature neonates are at greater risk of developmental problems such as cerebralpalsy, developmental delays, and hearing and vision problems. the challenge of healthcareprofessionals who support preterm neonates and their parents is not only ensuring neonates’survival but also optimizing infant development. interventions to reduce adverse healthoutcomes are very important. the present study was focused on exploring the effect of thecreating opportunities for parent empowerment (cope) schedule on the developmentaloutcomes of premature infantsmethods: the randomization process was done using a randomized block design, andneonates were assigned randomly to the treatment (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. neonatesin two groups were matched in gestational age, birth height, head circumference at birth, birthweight, apgar scores (1 min, 5 min), prematurity, and new ballard score. so, there was nota significant difference between them at the baseline. in the intervention group, the parentsreceived a cope schedule in a set of cd’s in conjunction with written instruction andsupplemental activities (guidebook). cope schedule was performed in 5 steps. in the controlgroup, neonates received only routine services and interventions, and the research therapistperformed no additional interventions. new ballard examination was done in all neonates atthe time of enrollment, followed by administration of ages and stages questionnaire (asq)by an occupational therapist, who was double-blinded for the study, to any available parent(mostly mothers) at 6 months of corrected age.results: the results showed more maturity in “communication”, “gross motor”, “problemsolving”,and “personal-social” in the intervention group, and the observed differences betweenthe two groups in these outcomes were statistically significant (p<0.05).discussion: this educational-behavioral intervention program could promote mothers’knowledge about their neonates and improve the developmental aspects of premature infantsduring their first months of life.