ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
The influence of family care guidance for premature infants based on a telemedicine model on their neurodevelopmental assessment indicators
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Premature infants, defined as those born before 37 weeks of gestation, are at elevated risk for neurodevelopmental delay due to incomplete organ maturation and heightened vulnerability to neurological impairment during the critical early postnatal period. Family care plays a crucial role during their growth process, yet the traditional nursing model has substantial temporal and spatial limitations.This single-center randomized controlled trial enrolled 186 premature infants admitted to the neonatal department of Beijing Friendship Hospital from January 2023 to December 2024. Infants were randomly assigned to an observation group (n=93) or a control group (n=93) using a computer-generated random number table. Sample size was determined by a priori power analysis (α=0.05, power=0.80) based on expected effect sizes from prior telemedicine intervention studies. The control group received routine home care according to standard hospital practice, while the observation group received additional home care guidance based on a telemedicine model, including monthly 60-minute remote video training sessions, 24/7 real-time online consultation, and weekly personalized knowledge push via WeChat. The intervention period was 6 months, beginning at hospital discharge.After the 6-month intervention, the observation group demonstrated significantly higher scores across all domains of the Bayley Scales (cognitive: 87.6±4.9 vs 81.3±4.5, Cohen's d=1.34; language: 85.2±4.6 vs 79.1±4.2, Cohen's d=1.39; motor: 86.3±4.7 vs 80.5±4.3, Cohen's d=1.29; all P<0.001). The NBNA score (37.8±1.4 vs 35.6±1.2, Cohen's d=1.69, P<0.001), gross motor function score (88.4±5.8 vs 81.7±5.0, Cohen's d=1.24, P<0.001), fine motor function score (87.7±5.6 vs 80.3±4.8, Cohen's d=1.42, P<0.001), Social Adaptability Scale score (86.8±5.3 vs 82.6±4.9, Cohen's d=0.82, P<0.001), and Neuropsychological Development Questionnaire score (85.7±5.4 vs 79.8±4.8, Cohen's d=1.15, P<0.001) were all significantly higher in the observation group compared with the control group. Family care guidance for premature infants based on a telemedicine model can effectively improve multiple neurodevelopmental assessment indicators and daily behavioral outcomes. This intervention addresses previous research limitations by employing rigorous randomization, standardized outcome measures, and adequate sample size, thereby providing robust evidence for an efficient and convenient new approach for family care of premature infants that is worthy of clinical promotion and application.
Keywords: family care guidance, home care, neurodevelopmental assessment, premature infants, randomized controlled trial, Telemedicine
Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 06 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zuo, Ye and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Li Zuo
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