ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597244
This article is part of the Research TopicEnsuring Public Health: The Active Role of Healthcare ProfessionalsView all 18 articles
"NE@R": a new resource to promote preterm infants' development through parents-delivered guided play
Provisionally accepted
Sonia Trussardi1
Cecilia Naboni2*
Camilla Caporali1,2
Camilla Pisoni3
Stefano Ghirardello3Simona Orcesi1,2- 1Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neurological Institute Foundation Casimiro Mondino (IRCCS), Pavia, Lombardy, Italy
- 2Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Lombardy, Italy
- 3Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, San Matteo Hospital Foundation (IRCCS), Pavia, Lombardy, Italy
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Introduction: The huge prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders underscores the necessity for novel, comprehensive prevention strategies for neuroprotective intervention, particularly in preterm infants. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transformation of healthcare services, emphasizing the use of digital resources. Given the rapid brain development in infants in the first 1000 days of life and the demonstrated impact of adaptive neuroplasticity, the implementation of early and ecological interventions are essential for supporting optimal neurodevelopment in this vulnerable population. Aim of this project is to develop a digital tool for parent-led parent-based intervention and assess its feasibility and accessibility.Materials and methods: We collected evidence on early intervention strategies for preterm infants through a non-systematic review of current literature to develop the platform and created an ad-hoc questionnaire to evaluate the tool's feasibility and acceptability in our Neurological Follow-Up.Results: "NE@R” is a digital platform designed to support neurodevelopment through parents-delivered play. The platform offers evidence-based information, videos, and practical activities to enhance motor, cognitive, social, and language development at each developmental phase. We introduce the resource in our clinical setting and collect 100 preterm infants’ families feedback. The majority of parents reported finding the resource beneficial, with many expressing increased confidence in supporting their child's development.Discussion: Preterm babies families’ support represents a precious field of intervention both for parents and infants at risk. “NE@R" has proven to be an effective, low-cost tool within our follow-up program, aligning with the principles of family-centered care.
Keywords: Early Intervention, Preterm Birth, Play, neonatal intensive care, parent experience, Digital resource, environmental enrichment
Received: 20 Mar 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Trussardi, Naboni, Caporali, Pisoni, Ghirardello and Orcesi. 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: Cecilia Naboni, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Lombardy, Italy
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