Date of Last Revision

2023-05-03 12:45:18

Major

Nursing

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Date of Expected Graduation

Spring 2019

Abstract

Prematurity and low birth weight are leading causes of infant death. Throughout recent years care methods for this population have evolved from incubator care to Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). The purpose of this systematic review was to answer the following PICO question: in the case of preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants, how does the technique of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) compare to traditional incubator use, regarding long and short-term outcomes of preterm and LBW infant recovery. Methods of this study included the selection of twenty peer-reviewed articles that studied the effect of incubators and KMC on premature and LBW infants. Articles published between the years of 1983 to 2017 were selected from databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, and CINAHL. Studies were synthesized in a table of evidence (See appendix A for synthesized table of evidence). Sample sizes ranged from nine to 4,165 premature and low birth weight infants. Study designs selected included systematic reviews and various experimental designs. For this systematic review, the PICO question that will be analyzed will be the following: in the case of preterm and low birth weight infants, how does the technique of Kangaroo Care compare to traditional isolette use, regarding long and short-term outcomes of preterm and low birth weight infant recovery? It was found that overall, KMC was most effective in caring for LBW and premature infants. Therefore, the recommendation is to expand research on neonatal care techniques with more comprehensive studies while encouraging a low-cost method for those without modern technology, and to utilize KMC whenever possible to provide for the best outcomes in this population.

Research Sponsor

Wanda Csaky

First Reader

Debra Horning

Second Reader

Michele Zelko

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