The Effect of Phone Counseling for Mothers of Premature Infants Discharged from the Hospital on Infants’ Readmission

Background Despite the progress made in the care transition program from the hospital to home with an emphasis on telephone counseling, an effective and safe care transition process has not been provided to patients and their families.The aim of this study was to investigate The Effect of Phone Counseling for Mothers of Premature Infants Discharged from the Hospital on Infants’ Readmission. Materials and Methods In this quasi experimental study, 100 mothers of premature infants were selected using convenient sampling and randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. A demographic data questionnaire and the check list of the causes and readmission rate of premature infants were used for data collection. In the intervention group, after the discharge of premature infants, three phone calls in a week in the first four weeks, and two phone calls a week in weeks five to six were made via the landline and mobile phone for providing  necessary education to mothers regarding the provision of care to infants. The communication time varied between 10 and 15 minutes in each phone call. Lastly, the rate of hospital readmission of the infants 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after the intervention were assessed by phone. Telephone communication to the mothers in the control group was performed for raising their awareness of the causes and rate of hospital readmission in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Results: Each group (case and control groups) was consisted of 50 Mothers of Premature Infants and no statistically significant difference was reported between the two groups in terms of the mean age mothers, infant age, and birth weight when discharging from the hospital and hospitalization time. The rate of hospital readmission in the intervention group 4 weeks (P=0.004), six weeks (P=0.005) and 12 weeks (P=0.006) after the intervention was significantly lower than the control group. Conclusion Telephone consultations are an affordable way for engaging and supporting the mothers of premature infants. More study is warranted to determine if these results can be applied to multiple sites and in more diverse populations, as well as if this intervention can reduce infants’ Readmission.