Variation in follow-up for children born very preterm in Europe.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Children born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) face high risks of neurodevelopmental and health difficulties compared with children born at term. Follow-up after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit is essential to ensure early detection and intervention, but data on policy approaches are sparse.

Methods

We investigated the characteristics of follow-up policy and programmes in 11 European countries from 2011 to 2022 using healthcare informant questionnaires and the published/grey literature. We further explored how one aspect of follow-up, its recommended duration, may be reflected in the percent of parents reporting that their children are receiving follow-up services at 5 years of age in these countries using data from an area-based cohort of ver

SUBMITTER: Seppanen AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10843937 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature