Effects of Instruction on Parent Competency During Infant Handling in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of 3 different methods for delivering instruction on infant handling to parents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Ninety-six parents in the NICU received instruction. Parents were taught the same 3 infant-handling techniques after random assignment to the (1) direct, (2) video, or (3) written-pictorial instructional groups. After baseline competency assessment, parents received instruction according to their group. A masked evaluator assessed parent performance, and parents rated instructional effectiveness. All groups significantly improved handling performance. The direct and video groups performed 2 handling activities significantly better than the written-pictorial group. No significant differences were found between the direct and video groups. All groups perceived the instruction as effective. Direct and video instructions are equally effective in teaching parents to perform simple whole motor tasks in the NICU, and parents welcome the instruction.