Date of Award

Summer 2025

Project Type

Thesis

College or School

COLA

Department

Nursing

Program or Major

Direct Entry Masters of Science in Nursing

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Jordan Lavallee

Second Advisor

Pamela Kallmerten

Third Advisor

Deborah Simonton

Abstract

Background: Skin-to-skin (STS) contact, also known as kangaroo care, is a critical intervention for preterm infants, especially for those in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It promotes neurodevelopmental outcomes, physiological stability, and parental bonding. However, STS often falls below recommended daily levels due to a variety of berries. Exploring aids like belly bands may help address these barriers and promote improved outcomes.

Local Problem: STS time in this NICU microsystem falls significantly below nationally recommended levels, with most preterm infants receiving less than one to two hours daily compared to the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 8-24 hours per day. Contributing factors include inadequate parental and nurse education, limited promotion of STS, and parental hesitation in handling fragile infants. This quality improvement project aimed to improve parental comfort and nurse confidence in facilitating STS by implementing belly bands in the NICU.

Methods: This quality improvement (QI) project used the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model to introduce belly bands as a supportive tool for STS. The interventions included nurse education and distribution of informational materials to families. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed nurse satisfaction, confidence in educating parents, and perceived parental comfort.

Results: Fourteen nurses completed the pre-intervention survey and four completed the post-intervention survey. Post-intervention responses indicated improved nurse confidence and perceived parental comfort, with 57% of the nurses pre-intervention believing parents were comfortable using belly bands compared to 100% post-intervention. Additionally, 75% of post-survey respondents reported confidence assisting parents with STS while using belly bands.

Conclusions: The introduction of belly bands in the NICU was associated with increased nurse confidence and perceived parental comfort, which may support efforts to promote STS practices. It’s low cost and simplicity support sustainable and potential spread to other NICUs through further cycles and direct parental feedback are needed.

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